finding her way
by greeneyedwickeddragon
Summary: Harry Potter died with his parents so who is Dumbledore using as his pawn? Fem Harry, Dumbledore bashing.
1. Chapter 1

Harry sat staring at the parchment had just changed his life. He had long suspected that something wasn't quite right, but not to this extent. When he had been younger, just starting school with Dudley, he'd been so excited. His grades had been startlingly good. Vernon and Petunia had been horrified and angry at all the praise he had gotten. Vernon had broken his hand as soon as they had gotten home and made it clear worse would happen if he ever did better than Dudley again. So he hadn't. Harry had instead curved his grades learning everything he could while making sure his grades never again surpassed his cousins. Than his Hogwarts letter had arrived and Harry had simply continued his habit of curving his grades. All the while studying in secrete everything he could get his hands on, magical customs, and etiquette to magical classes those offered at Hogwarts and those that weren't. More recently his studies had geared towards healing. Healing physical injuries and magical ones and all the ways to diagnose a problem. Potions, spells, and rituals used to scan the body, mind, and magic to insure the patient was healthy. Of course he used them on himself. Now several sheaves of parchment littered the floor.

Harry's bones were underdeveloped, and a bit brittle he was deficient in several vitamins and minerals the body needed, and his eyesight was a result of too much time locked in the cupboard as a baby. Several of his bones had been broken and never healed right and there was problems with some of his internal organs. Some of which, he hadn't known he even had; like a uterus. Which led him to the spells on his person and the long term potions in his blood stream. He was apparently born a she. That actually put her at ease and did a bit to help explain why she had never been attracted to girls. The spells and potions made her look like a boy but didn't change her actual gender.

The charms on her appearance didn't just cover her more feminine attributes, no they changed the color of her eyes, skin, and hair. They even changed her hair style. She carefully cataloged everything used to change her appearance before undoing them. She researched and found best treatments to get her healthy. Then started a regime to get it all done. The blocks on her magic, obscuring and subduing her magical core, where a smidgeon more complicated. Those she unraveled a little at a time allowing her full potential out while being careful not to cause herself any more damage than had already occurred.

Realizing that their could only be one reason to hide her appearance so thoroughly she also began researching ways to determine her parentage. The results were not promising. She would need a sample of her own genetic code then something to compare it too. Hogwarts did keep students medical records, including a complete genetic profile. The nurse needed those in case of creature and other family inheritance issues. Using those meant breaking into the records room and performing the test on every single individual student file. It would be time consuming to say the least. She had nicked a time turner from the department of mysteries fiasco or else it would never get done. She spent most of her days exhausted and relived her nights to get more time for her research and health. Between pretending to still be Harry Potter, and reliving her days and nights, she was also planning her escape.

By yule holidays she not only had solid plan but her mothers identity. Charis Black was Sirius' aunt, and Orion's youngest sister. Unfortunately she had never married, so finding her father was still on her to do list. It was her hope to spend part of her holiday searching Grimauld Place for clues. She'd ended up sorting through three drawers worth of paper work in Orion Black's old study before she found her first clue. Charis had not had enough magic to continue onto NEWT level work, so the family had quietly sold her off. While she wasn't a squib she wasn't much better, so instead of arranging a marriage, she was entered into a breeding contract and made a concubine. She was little more than a sex slave and according to the documents she belonged to Tom Marvolo Riddle to help continue the Gaunt and Slytherin lines. Well Shit. According to Orion's ledger he'd kept track of Charis' children. She had had three successful pregnancies, one miscarriage. She'd had only one daughter. Aurora Persephone Slytherin, taken by Aurors who had illegally removed several children from dark homes allegedly for their own protection. Charis had been visiting her niece Bellatrix at the time Frank Longbottom had originally thought the child he took belonged to the Lestranges. No one had corrected them afraid of what might happen if the light side new they had the dark lords daughter in they're possession.

That changed things. A lot. She couldn't kill her own father no matter how deranged she thought he was. Charis Black had obviously been well cared for and provided with everything she needed. The Black family tapestry recorded health and was self updating. Now that she was looking she had found the little formerly concealed space that recorded her family. Voldemort might be out of sorts, but all his children and Charis were healthy and happy. Her brothers were unfamiliar to her she thought they must have gone to a different school, than Hogwarts. While she wasn't all that thrilled with her new family, she new couldn't hate them either. So she returned to Hogwarts finished her fifth year while planning her escape. She boarded the train for the end of the year then ducked into a public loo turned back time three months, changed her cloths into feminine robes and headed to the ministry of magic. She used a wand from Grimauld Places attic to register with the security wizard, made her way to the department of education and children's well being, she used her real name to register herself as being homeschooled and applied for permission to take her OWL's. Taking the tests out of school required a fifty galleon fee. Which was outrageously expensive. Nevertheless she paid it plus the ten G extra needed to take the international standard as well. She would not be confined to Brittan this way and go to another school later if she ever discovered where her brothers had gone to school the oldest was surely already graduated, but the other would be in his last year next year.

It took three weeks for the ministry to schedule her tests and another four weeks to take them all the ministry had considerably more options then Hogwarts. By the time June came around she had her results and left for France 'Harry Potter' had not yet officially disappeared and she did not want to be around when he did.

OWL RESULTS FOR AURORA PERSEPHONE SLYTHERIN BLACK.

Etiquette

\- E

Flying

\- O

Dancing

\- E

Human Languages

French

\- E

Spanish

\- E

German

\- E

Russian

\- O

Creature Languages

Gobledegook

\- O

Mermish

\- O

Fea Latin

\- O

Elvish

\- A

D.A.D.A.

\- O

Transfigurations

\- O

Charms

\- E

Potions

\- O

Herbology

\- O

Astronomy

\- E

History

\- A

Muggle Studies

\- O

Runes

\- O

Arithmancy

\- O

Warding

\- E

Healing

\- O

Magical Theory

\- E

Accounting and taxes

\- E

Basic Laws

\- E

Estate Management

-A

Well at least she passed. Though there were a few more acceptable's than she would have liked but what can you expect with a ghost as a teacher in history and the rest of them had come from self study classes all in all she didn't think it was anything to bad.


	2. Chapter 2

I don't own Harry Potter. duh.

I'm sorry this has taken so long I've been busy. I haven't had a chance to have this Beta read yet so please bare with me and feel free to correct me when I'm wrong. thanks.

2Chapter

Aurora headed first to France mostly because she wanted time to breathe and figure herself out. She had no idea who she was as a person. What clothes did she like? How should she style her hair, or makeup? She spent three weeks in France's high end fashion district (muggle and magical) just trying on clothes and finding her own style. In time she figured out how to discretely check the Student registrar for Beaubottons. No Slytherins, Gaunts, or Black's, in attendance for the years her brothers would have been students. Realizing her brothers would likely have been entered into a darker school, she headed for Bulgaria. Along the way she tried as many new things as she could find. Cooking classes, Wine tasting, Martial arts, beauty courses that taught her how to do her hair and make up, and coordinate her clothes, shoes, purses, and jewelry. Her brothers weren't in Durmstrang. At a loss as to how to find her brothers without going to Narcissa Malfoy and therefore her father, Aurora decided she needed a new plan and more time. After looking up newspapers and journals for the past year; Aurora used her 'borrowed' time turner, went back a full year.

Listless and unsure what She should do with herself she started researching other schools with her own education and future in mind. While looking for a job to keep her busy and pull in some extra income was a bust, she did however find an advertisement for a broom racing competition. It made her wonder if she would still be a good flyer, and she entered herself and loved the results. She loved flying and was good at it she won by a fifth of a second. It had been exhilarating and freeing and reassuring all at once. She looked up and entered other races traveling from Bulgaria back toward France.

She had emptied "Harry's" trust before leaving England and her racing winnings helped keep her from spending it all. While Aurora didn't win every race she was good enough that she won far more than she lost and had started making a name for herself. To make more money Aurora accepted a Job advertising for a French broom racing company, she posed for photos gave a mischievous wink at the camera while sitting on the broom. She made good money getting royalty's for every poster sold. Winning races meant getting endorsements and more money. By chance she met her new best friend Magenta "Maggie" Brown a shop assistant at the store that sold clothes including those uniform designs needed for professional racing. Maggie was interesting fun to talk to and had a wicked sense of humor. As well as entertaining her Maggie pointed Aurora in the direction of her dream school. Athena school of the Arcane accepted everyone regardless of blood status you just had to be able to pay for it. Which few could. The price per year just for schooling was astronomical. Boarders were given one small room the size of your standard cell and were expected to expand and furnish as their own means and abilities allowed.

Each Student; was required to have there own personal steed, breed was up to student, were responsible for there own pets (no limit to amount or species given) and servants (students were allowed two each). All of which needed to be collared and have clearly marked owners. The book list was huge. Each class had one main book and at least three reference books in their required column that said they also had several listed under 'recommended'. Students from Arcane could get jobs just about anywhere regardless of blood status or species. They had courses in healing, enchanting, alchemy, necromancy, the arts light and dark, world history, warding, curse breaking, and that was just some offered in addition to the normal classes offered at Hogwarts.

She could not afford Arcane with her current means. No matter how many jobs she took. But past potters and Blacks had gone there, so one or both of the family's had to have more money somewhere. She just needed to see what she could find. First a steed, according the future newspapers, a group of poachers had been found after killing each other in a fight over how to split the money. All the animals appeared to have either escaped their cages or been let out before authorities had arrived.

Aurora disguised her scent, disillusioned herself climbed a tree and waited. The poachers arrived three hours later, got into fight, and as the last one was bleeding to death Aurora got moving letting animals out of cages the unicorns, threstles, and most of the pegasi left immediately, as did most of the others. Finally all that was left for some odd looking maybe kittens with several tails, three cases of them nine in total too young to look after themselves and a large black pegases with red feathers on his underwings. He was hurting, and hungry but proud and willing to stay with her. She took him and the kittens home with her to figure out their species and to start healing them. The Kits were Nine-tailed Kneazles. Wild adults would fight to the death rather than be captured and no one had figured out how to bread them in captivity yet. They were worth a small fortune unfortunately she couldn't sell them. Not because she didn't have black market contacts to do so, but because she felt bad and wrong at the very thought. She had gotten just a smidgeon attached to them.

To get money Aurora traveled back to England waited until she knew Moody would be out for the day snuck into the house and befriended Kreacher who was more than happy to help a "proper" Black and to pull one over on the nasty brat and his band of blood traitors trampling all over his poor mistresses house. Everything being thrown away was bagged up and then Kreacher sent it to the attic instead of letting it be thrown away he had been doing this for months with no one noticing already. So Aurora sent Kreacher to fetch Winky from Hogwarts. Asked Winky if she wanted to be a proper elf and have a mistress, Winky agreed immediately. With the elves help she went threw the attic which was covered in junk. Trunks and bags and shelves and broken furniture and portraits in gaudy frames. She took all the pictures out of their frames and rolled them into protector cases set the gold and silver frames to melt down or just sell whatever would fetch her the most. In the end she a set of trunks for herself nice and high end just needed cleaned up a bit. Two sets of Vanishing cabinets. Enough furniture to fill a house it just needed refurbished a bit. Two flying carpets. Three huge wizard's tents. Jewelry, forgotten by the family because the previous owners had been kicked out the family stuff belonging to Isla, and Andromeda Black especially. And a small library of books. In a stroke of genius she sent Winky to Hogwarts to copy anything the headmaster had on herself or Harry potter, including bank vaults. The potter family vault was technically closed off but Dumbledore as Harry's guardian had still been charging expense's to it. And Harry had a secondary vault to hold the stuff people had given him as the boy who lived. Dumbledore was in charge of it too. The potters had a adopted her which meant adding a bit of James genetics her own giving her a third parent. That meant It was all technically hers while winky couldn't remove anything from the vaults that Aurora herself hadn't put there nothing was stopping Aurora from adding something and then sending Winky to retrieve it. Normally that wouldn't mean much but normal people didn't have access to working vanishing cabinets. While rare and pricey the Goblins had still bought up and destroyed as many the could because they bypassed wards. All wards, even those Goblin made. She put them in a raggedy old chest each sent them to Gringots with the vault number on each chest. The next day the chest where in the right vaults and she visited one after the other emptying the vaults of all that was there and then leaving the way she had come. Winky then went and retrieved the cabinets.

The old house elf that took care of the greenhouses on the roof Grimauld place had never met Sirius black, used to belong to Melania Black whom had Hated Walburga with everything she had and whom Walburga had been hated right back. He had been sentenced to the greenhouse as soon as Melania had died and had been watching these happenings the whole time finally approached Aurora just before she had left. He wanted to know who her parents were and when she told him he informed her that the Greenhouses were portable no one but him had used them in years and that enough food and wine to feed and army for a few years were being stored in stasis in the basement. He retrieved it all for her and announced that 'Wonderful lady Mel is being wanted her shinny's to go to her daughter but you is her daughters daughter and that is good enough do you's wants them too?' She'd said yes and the poor old thing had then brought her a jewelry box twice his size. He'd then asked to come with her and to continue looking after the greenhouses. She'd said yes and that had been that. All in all she'd spent a week in Grimauld and had come out with enough in actual money to pay to two years of schooling and still have a ten thousand galleon cushion. That was before selling what didn't want in junk and stuff from either the house or the vaults.


	3. Chapter 3

As always I do not own Harry Potter.

3chapter

A letter from Maggie stopped her from leaving England right away. Maggie wanted to know what she was going to be doing for clothes. Arcane had seven different uniforms for summer ware and three variations of those for winter ware. Twenty one different outfits and she would need multiples of those, and that wasn't all. While Aurora had become something of a clothes snob her wardrobe wasn't anywhere near what the pampered princesses attending Arcane would have. She wouldn't normally be too upset about that but, as Maggie had pointed out, others would care and notice; she didn't want to ostracized from her peers right from the get go. That meant cloaks, robes, dresses, blouses, skirts, hose, stockings, gloves, hats, shawls, and shoes, all in the quantity, and quality Arcane girls would expect. Wizarding high fashion was less about who made your clothes, and more about type of material, thread count, and stitching. The material had to hold enchantments, or be really rare to count for high quality. As for thread count the higher the better. The stitching had to be expertly done in visible patterns, usually involving runes. Color, and design depended on what ever was popular, the time of day and what your were doing for that time, and personal preferences. Hence why Dumbledore got away with his more eccentric taste in clothing.

Maggie had written a list of suggestions for fabrics and counts and then ways to do it themselves with out having to pay an arm and liver to have a seamstress do it for her. Aurora thought she could take it a step further. She had sewing machines and could purchase and fix up an old weaver, if she had to she could get a muggle one and enchant it herself. The potions to dye and treat fabrics was simple to make, and doing the dye the muggle way meant it would stick better to the more magical fabrics. She had been toying already with the idea of going into the forbidden forest for potions ingredients and to collect a few plants she didn't already have, now she had a new reason to go through the forest. Acremantula silk was incredibly rare and best of all held potion infused enchantments forever. It was hard to dye but the simpler muggle dyes might just hold better on it.

Sneaking into the forest was both easier and harder than she'd thought it would be the centaurs who finally caught her didn't have a problem with her hunting the spiders, so long as she stayed off their land, she was warned that 'we will be watching little human'. She set traps to lure the large spiders away from the nests were she could catch, hold, collect and kill, in relative peace. She hunted down those plants needed for potions and few flowering and pretty ones as well. Sneaking out of the forbidden forest was actually harder than getting in. So naturally she was caught. The Man didn't search her but was awfully curious about why she wasn't in school and her parents and what she was doing skulking around a dangerous place. She managed to placate him somewhat, telling him she was homeschooled and had been looking for a bowtruckle as part of an essay her tutor had assigned her. He escorted to Hogsmead and she lost him by slipping into the Three Broomsticks and flooing to Diagon Ally.

She left England quickly after that only stopping at a few estate sells till she found what she was looking for. She quickly and carefully went about selling the things she couldn't afford to be caught with like the cursed bits from Grimmauld place and the spider venom/parts she'd collected while getting the silk. She got a tidy sum from the sells and then went about getting rid of everything else she didn't want. Maggie was glad to have her back in France and complained that the feathered devil hadn't liked her any and that she would never ever watch the pegas's for her again. The kits on the other hand had been adorable and sweet if mischievous. Maggie loved the weaver she'd picked up and squealed over the sewing machines. They wasted no time in getting to work preparing the potions first so they could be promptly added at the appropriate times. The effort was worth the results in the end, and with a few purchases of rolls of uncut high end fabrics, she had an entire wardrobe fit for princess, Included several riding habits for when she took out Nightmare, her lovely pegases whose exact species was still unknown. Potter vault had contain deeds to several properties including a chateau in France, Aurora and Maggie moved in right away no more rent!

Having her uniforms made however meant using school approved fabrics, designs, and stitching. Still buying the Fabric rolls and threads for the stitching wasn't as bad as having someone else do it. They made several each so she'd only have to do laundry once a week and wouldn't have to worry about running out before then. With all of the equipment needed, and either already 'liberated' from Grimmauld or purchased at the bazaar's; she could turn her attentions to furnishing her school room.

She had all the furniture from the vaults and Grimmauld that just needed restored and updated, Aurora just needed a place to put them, and not just carry cases for transport, but for when she got to school. The future boarder had enrolled and paid all the fee's by now and gotten the dimensions of her room at Arcane a smallish cell with a tiny balcony, that had cost extra. While already being able to preform several types of the space expansion charm; that wouldn't be enough space to truly use the room first their was only one public bath/toilet room per floor and about forty girls. Umm NO. So a personal bathroom was a must. In addition to a bedroom. Their were no commons rooms at Arcane Students were expected to entertain friends and guests in their own room. So if the cell was expanded to its furthest with the school had helpfully provided the dimensions of then it would be big enough to turn into a living/entertainment room. Trunks could be used as apartments, but that would look odd and having to go in and out of them would get tiring fast. So maybe a trunk that didn't' look like a trunk? What if it just looked like a door. A big clunky old fashioned door. It took some experimenting and consulting a trunk maker for help but in the end she had four 'doors' to add to her living space the first plain one was a toilet for the guests to use the second would lead to her personal library and office/study space. The third was shaped as double sliding doors made of glass the doors once slid open led to a large kitchen with pantry and bedrooms for the elves. The fourth and most ornate door was two floors the first a large Den with a fireplace and ornate shelves. The fire place and shelving was carefully arranges to disguise a spiral staircase that led to her bedroom off her bedroom was a smallish room to be her walk in wardrobe, that housed her clothes, various accessories and mirrored vanity set so she could sit down and apply make up and do her hair. Also connected to her bedroom was her personal bathing room and toilet. So she wouldn't have to share ever again.

While looking through Melania's Jewelry box she found several hidden compartments containing books. Cook books hand written by Grandma Melania, apparently she'd been somewhat famous for two things her food and her home made perfumes. Instructions for the perfumes were in there own little book. She and Maggie had a wonderful time making the perfumes and putting them in little crystal vials. Between the potter vaults and what she had taken from the Black home there were close to two hundred crystal perfume bottles some had diamonds on them some were in odd shapes but all were beautiful. Aurora and Maggie picked out there favorites filled them the perfumes they liked the most and Aurora packed hers away to take to school with her.

Aurora spent May 27th hidden away mourning. She had originally nicked the time turner on this day. Meaning to go back and save Sirius. No matter what she thought of or what she looked up she couldn't see a way to save him without being seen. Or creating a paradox by interacting with her passed self. But what could she do? She had hidden in wait for the poachers, but what would she do when they came how could she smuggle Sirius out? She had spent so much time preparing for school and trying to live her own life, but how would that help her now? It wasn't like she could smuggle a vanishing cabinet into the department of Mysteries. Could she? How to stop Sirius from going through the vale but still look like he'd gone through. Unless she moved the vale and disguised the cabinet to look like vale? If she could make a trunk look like a door why not? With a new determination she got to work. The time turner couldn't be used for another year after this so everything had to go right.

The Morning of the 27th of May Aurora went into the ministry to register her paperwork for starting to learn the Animagus transformation, and all her school papers to show were she would be attending. It gave her a reason to be here today. Paperwork took forever after all. Once done, she 'got lost' and wondered into the corridor outside the department of mystery's she's called out saying she was lost asking if anyone was around, when no one answered she pulled out her wand cast the spells to make sure no one was just hiding and that she was truly alone, than began to disguise herself. Once inside the death chamber she called for Winky to help they set up the cabinet disguised as the archway set the archway just inside the cabinet so anybody nearby would still hear and feel the archways effects.

Once the Order arrived and fighting started in earnest Winky moved the archway to be sure Sirius would miss it once he was in aurora stunned him for good measure activated the cabinet her Sirius, Winky, and the archway were in the chateau. Maggie and Shell (Melania's ancient elf) took Sirius and began to heal him. Aurora and Winky went back to the ministry and when everyone was out and distracted (might have umm "liberated" a few more items) switched the cabinet and archway. Winky took the vanishing cabinet home once aurora hade walked through it again. They had actually pulled it off. Now they just had to diagnose and treat Sirius, and hope he didn't hate them when he finally awoke.

Diagnosing and treating Sirius was a nightmare. For one they had to keep him asleep, that meant daily nutritional potions, water, spelling out the waste, and applying several charms to ensure his muscles didn't atrophy. The second problem was the shear amount of problems they found then had to diagnose properly. Third was finding solutions his numerous injuries, physical, magical, and mental. They found spells on his mind that been in place since shortly after he'd started Hogwarts. Those had to be unraveled carefully so as not to do more damage.

In the end after all foreign magic had been wiped from his mind, both that from Dumbledore and the Dementers, they used a nifty little toy they'd found in the potter vaults. The 'thing' (they didn't know what it was properly called) looked like a cross between a helmet and a crown and once worn helped you recall and sort your memories very useful for learning occlumancy as both girls had already used it to that purpose. They then began the process of flushing potions from his body, this meant they now had to spell a balanced nutritional soup into his stomach three times a day, and use carefully applied sleep spells on him twice daily. This lasted for a full week. Then potions to fix his malnutrition were spelled into him, along with ones to fix damage to his bones, muscles, and organs. All that work, and they still weren't done. They'd fixed his body, done what they could for his mind, but his magic was still out off. Fixing his magic was trickier. Much trickier, unlike Aurora Sirius' magic was grown and therefore 'fixed' and unmovable. That made moving it, correcting and healing it, almost impossible. The only way to get the core to 'move' would be to agitate it either by forcefully 'adding' some or removing some Sirius would not survive having magic removed from him.

Getting magic to add to Sirius would mean likely killing someone else. Maggie pointed out that there were plenty of bad people out there they could find one bad enough and then who would really care? In the end they found stalked and caught a pedophilic serial killer. They tide him up drained is magic into a crystal decanter which they then purified. Their victim died as soon they were done draining him Maggie transfigured him into some wood and Aurora set him on fire. Nothing would be left. They added the purified magic to Sirius a little bit at a time, one big dump then a steady enough trickle to keep his core agitated while they moved, repaired, and rotated his magic through his body until he was fully healed they then cut off the flow of new magic preformed a small modified ritual originally meant to force a child into magical maturation early. All they could do then was wait and see; if it took his magic would once again became fixed and do so healed and whole once more. They removed the occlumancy helm, and waited for him to awaken.

Sirius awoke slowly, feeling groggy. The world spun and he didn't know where he was or how he got there. His own memories came to him slowly, with horrifying clarity he saw himself sorted into the wrong house, friendless after some upper years told the other students how dark his family was. He had hated it, he hadn't fit in, and his letters home begging to be withdrawn were ignored. Finally when he'd just wanted to run away Dumbledore had called him to his office, Sirius had thought his family had come for him at last, but that wasn't the case Dumbledore had stunned him and when he'd awoken he hadn't remembered being stunned or how badly he'd wanted to go home he'd been introduced to James Potter and Dumbledore had told him that now he'd made a real friend things wouldn't be so bad. They hadn't been either people in his new house had been nicer and gradually friendlier. His family hadn't written except to convey how they were disappointed in his choice of friends. He'd become angry with his family and the anger hadn't faded. When he got home he'd fought with his family. They'd yelled at each other and his father who'd once doted on him ignored his existence his mother had been unreasonable and distant only now he remembered pushing her away and yelling and calling her names. His situation with his family had gotten worse and worse, exasperated after every school and every meeting with the headmaster, until finally he'd run away from home not spoken to any of his close blood relations again. What had he done. Oh merlin, his goddaughter, the night James and Lily had died Sirius had shown up and found little harry dead too only the little tiny baby Lily and James had recently adopted had survived and Dumbledore had been placing odd spells on her. Dumbledore had turned his wand to Sirius and when he'd regained conscious thought all that'd matter had been finding Peter. Now that he could think about it, it was so strange that people who'd barely wanted children to begin with had a adopted at all let alone in the middle of a war. Since he'd met 'Harry' since escaping Azkaban, he could guess what had happened that darling little girl.

His feelings for James were confusing on one hand Sirius had spent most of his life loving the man on the other hand James had been a bullying bigoted ass. James' natural charm and casual bigotry toward everything dark had helped delve a big wedge between Sirius and his Hogwarts age cousins and later Sirius' baby brother. James had made him godfather to Harry, and the daughter they'd dubbed Hope. James had discouraged him from making long term commitments that might have led to Sirius having a family of his own. While some things lingered uncertainly in his mind others were clear, He would never trust Dumbledore again and he needed to find some of his cousins and see if he could make things right. Had he let blood traitor, thieves, and worse Dumbledore into his family home? He had.. "Kreature!"

"Nasty Master is alive, such a shame Kreacher be most disappointed."

" Kreacher stop. Kreacher I want you throw any order members still in Grimmauld out. And close the house up"

"Gladly" Kreacher _squealed_ in delight and was gone before the traitorous son could change his mind.

Sirius snorted even as he started to take a good look around decided to explore a bit, clearly if he wasn't dead yet his hosts didn't want to kill him. He was in a small room, a twin bed pale green walls white trim and white covers on the bed the side table was loaded down with potions and charts. The charts outlined his treatments his potions and cleaning schedule mildly embarrassing that. While he wasn't in St. Mungo's or any of the other major hospitals, this might be a private practice which would explain the homey feel. Only one way to find out. The door outside opened with a turn of the knob, and Sirius Black stepped into a short hallway one end had stairs leading down and padfoot followed them. The animagus's hearing took him to the kitchen. Two girls were cooking lunch, dragon soup by its smell. He stopped to listen to their gossip when his name came up.

"Do you think Sirius will wake up today?"

"He should, Why you nervous?"

"Of course I am. He could hate me"

"He wont"

"He could, I'm not the child he wanted, am I?" Sirius frowned, "I have to tell him that Harry died, and the child he's been spoiling is really me. And if that's not enough we have to tell him what we did to keep him alive"

"Or you could leave the files you've been keeping by his table to be read when he awakes," Sirius tried not to laugh as both girls whirled around. "As it happens, I really like being alive and hope whoever you killed to keep me that way deserved it." Really he needed a camera the look of horror on their faces was priceless.


	4. Chapter 4

Maggie wasn't sure she should be here for this, as Aurora confessing every thing that had happened or been discovered including her theft of Grimauld and the potter vaults, seemed a bit personal. Sirius had asked her to stay when she'd made to go; Aurora looked grateful for Maggie's support. Padfoot sat almost stoically through it all only frowning as she told him how she had felt lost and betrayed in the beginning, and laughing when she told him her house elf had copied all the documents and paperwork involving her or Harry from Dumbledore's office.

"Well, under the circumstances you didn't do half bad, but you aren't prepared by a long shot for a school like Athena's. You are going to need more lessons on etiquette, dance, politics and insults before you go there. Or they will eat you up alive. Yes insult's" the look on their faces must have been comical for Sirius was grinning again beyond amused. "You're words are your greatest weapon learn how to use them, we can dig up portrait's of my great aunts Cassiopeia, Ursula, Drusilla, and Cedrilla. They were masters of their craft. As for the Gringots keys you found at Grimauld, if the keys haven't been recalled then the vaults still opened and all you need to access it is the key they don't have to know who you are. So we can go clean those out and I can start the rituals and paper work needed to start my new identity."

"There are rituals to give you a new identity?" Maggie asked intrigued.

Sirius snorted "Of course there are, There is a reason the Blacks reuse their names so much, I'm hardly the first Black to fake their death. I'm not even to the first to pretend to die inside the ministry hell, I'm the third 'Sirius' to 'die' inside the ministry the first one used the minister himself as both a cause of death and a witness. Poor man never did figure out what happened." Sirius added solemnly "All I need is the Family tapestry and to figure out who I want to be next."

Kreature was happy to fetch the tapestry and family paperwork, and a chest containing a relatively small collection of books. Sirius wasted no time in combing through it all find himself a new name, new parents and a new background. Finding a new name involved the complicated process of hanging the tapestry on the wall and throwing darts until He found one he liked and that the girls didn't make fun of too much.

Finding new parents was slightly more complicated. They couldn't have another child a year before or after Sirius' own birth, if they had other kids Sirius would have to send them a packet with his new name a small profile of his looks likes, dislikes, and general behavior incase anyone came looking. The new parents would also have to be the appropriate ages and from the same branches; or as close to the same branches as you could get, to his original parents. How did they know all this? The small collection of books all hand written contained titles on the inside covers such as ' _how to fake your death the flamboyant the subtle and the in-between_ (authors vary per chapter)' Auroras favorite, ' _so you need to get rid of the body_ ' and Maggie hadn't stopped giggling since she'd spotted ' _How to give your kids the talk and scare them into behaving, without risking your chances of someday getting grandkids_ ' (lesson one was written under it, in a different script, proclaiming, ' _disregard chapter seven_ '. Sirius pulled out one he thought they should all read and dutifully informed them that he had been taught from it as a child "My great, great aunt wrote this and the ministry promptly banned it our copy automatically updates to include recent changes in the law. Bold red ink spelled the title on the cover of _Two-thousand and two ways to legally torture friends, family, and enemies alike_."

"Sirius you know most families don't pass down rule books for better rule breaking" Maggie giggled out. Sirius was rather offended.

"THEY ARE NOT RULE BOOKS, they are loose guidelines to inspire those in need."

Sirius then gathered all the ingredients needed for the rituals that would change his appearance and not his gender, and to change his name because most pure-blood family's performed naming ceremonies for their kids and a simple spell all law-enforcement were taught could identify that name easily. His new 'Mother' was still alive and so had to be informed once everything was done. They had found her name in one of the 'guideline' books with a list of those who volunteered just for this purpose.

After they finished Padfoot had to rest again it had taken a lot out of him, but once he was in good shape and could move around more they made an appointment with gringots and then the gnomes, to go over Black family finances and to see where he stood with everything. He made Aurora do the same in case her parents had set something aside for her. She should at least have a dowry vault all Blacks did, according to Siri. Once that was straightened out they would go over all the paperwork from Dumbledore and see in the house elves couldn't sneak in for more, the former convict wanted to know if Dumbledore had stolen other kids and where they might be if he had. The new Orion Septimus Black, was something to behold healthier than ever, he was tall broad shouldered his traditional Black's Storm Grey eyes had lightened some a bit more blue could be seen shining through the grey, his nose was smaller and a bit pointier, his ears had changed shape sharper tips and a more rounded bottom edge. His tattoos were no more, Which disappointed him but he happily declared his attentions to get new once that wouldn't connect him to his old life in any way that was obvious.


	5. Chapter 5

Sirius immediately made appointments with Gringotts, the gnomes and an international bank Neither Aurora or Maggie had ever heard of to get all of them tested to see if they had any accounts with them and look for business opportunities to get them all in good financial shape since he didn't intend on 'living poor' so long as he could help it.

The results were interesting, and complicated, Maggie could lay claim to a small Vault from her maternal grandmothers family, only because its previous owner hadn't left a will and no one else had claimed it in so long it had gone into the 'first come first serve' category. By magical law when someone died without a will all their stuff was put into their vault or if they had more than one it was divided up equally and their closest relatives could claim it but if for whatever reason they didn't then after fifty years of being unclaimed the vaults/accounts could be claimed by anyone with a blood relation, they had twenty years for this and if no one had claimed it by then, It became property of whichever magical government that witch or wizard had been a citizen of. Maggie was beyond happy, while the money wasn't a lot compared to what Aurora had, and wasn't even on the same scale as what Sirius had been able to lay claim to, to she had been barely surviving before Aurora came along and had been feeling guilty thinking she was taking advantage of her friend but now had enough to live comfortably so long as she took care and didn't spend too much.

Aurora did have accounts in those banks she hadn't known about. Two from the potters, one from her father Tom Riddle, who had set up a vault for her when she was born and a sum had been paid into it annually ever since. Her Grandma Melania had left everything she had to her daughters daughter. Charis hadn't been able to inherit because she was a concubine, according to law her new 'Husband' Owned her. She could be gifted with money and items but her 'husband' technically owned those too. So old Mel had did what she could to work around the laws, and spite her own husband in the process. With the new accounts under her name and control, She was suddenly much more financially secure, she could once she graduated and made a good name for herself, do whatever made her happy without worrying about working for someone else.

All told Sirius had a large family vault in each bank and a few dozen smaller vaults per bank. He had left rich and gone into ridiculous money by anyone's standard. Except his own, Sirius spent an inordinate amount of time complaining about the state of things and how he'd have to spend the next six months getting it all together and working they way it should. In the mean time he spoke with Maggie about rewarding her for spending so much time and energy healing him when she didn't even know him.

Maggie's Father George Brown was a nasty, immoral, ambitious fellow of no noble or outstanding blood. Though technically a pureblood family the pure part was very recent. His only claim to fame was that he'd convinced his wife to marry him. Marcella Brown nee Rossil, the daughter of a pureblooded business mogul and one of the last surviving Selwyn's, she was beautiful, a true British rose, one that came with a huge dowry. Mr. Brown had been happy to spend his wife's money until her family had cut her off and he'd only had her dowry to rely on, once he'd made heavy inroads in that money as well some of his foreign business deals finally began to pay off in much smaller increments than he'd hoped. So, he sent one daughter, Lavender, off to Hogwarts in the hopes she'd make a good match and give him some more contacts that way. Poor Magenta had been kept and schooled at home, in hopes no one would notice when he sold her off to one of his foreign contacts for more money and a more favorable contract for his company. Newer British laws made it illegal to into a magical daughter into _any_ contract without her permission, boys already had similar laws in place to protect them. The only thing he hadn't counted on was Maggie herself catching wind of what he had planned and booking it. Maggie's great escape had been less harrowing than it sounded but was something she told none the less with great fervor.

She snuck out of her own house in the middle of night and into the neighbors who were known to throw night long parties. From their she had used the floo to her maternal grandparents house, where she begged her grandmother for help. The elder women had given her a diamond necklace to sell and a pearl set with the Selwyn's emblem to keep to help her get an apprenticeship. Maggie had done just that and never looked back. Sirius thought she could do more with her life than sewing clothes and wanted to give her the opportunity. Maggie didn't want to make her fathers family name successful. Sirius had grinned when she admitted that,

"Funny you should mention that. Now imagine for just a second that he wasn't your father, that wouldn't be his name you were using?" Maggie had stare at him in bewilderment until Sirius caved and proposed his plan to her. They would preform two rituals one to emphasize her mothers family in her DNA and one to replace her birth fathers with Sirius She would be adopted into the Black family and could use there resources to do what she wanted with her life. The darts and family tapestry were brought back out to help her pick out a proper name, made harder because Maggie vetoed all Sirius' favorites and Sirius insisted on a traditional Black name in the end though they did manage to agree on Margose so she could still be called 'Maggie' and Cedrilla after her new grandmother. The packet informing Cassiopeia Cedrilla Black about her new son and grandchild was then sent out and Sirius had Aurora and Their combined house elves pull out all the stolen and copied paperwork from Dumbledore and the Order. Sirius wanted to find out where all the stolen children were and inform their parents and the ministry and the many international governments who'd all throw a fit when they found out. It took them days to get through all the information and then send the information out on all but one of the kids, to the right sources. While Sirius was sure there were more children than what they had information on, he figured if people started investigating Dumbledore then most of them would eventually be found they weren't really Sirius' problem, except for the ones related to the Black family that is. They had kept on the files back because Sirius wasn't sure what would happen to the kid in question if the British Ministry were the ones to recover him. It turns out Aurora and a boy child a year older than herself had both been removed from the Lestranges household. The boy Caellum Rodolphus Lestrange had been kept by Dumbledore because of the dwindling number of Lestranges left. He had probable hoped that by controlling the heir if his parents died or were incapacitated he could control their Wizengamot seats as well as parts of their large fortune.

Unfortunately for Dumbledore, once the Lestranges, plus Barty Crouch Jr. attacked the Longbottom's, Augusta Longbottom, Franks mother, had blamed Dumbledore. She had threatened to go to the press if Dumbledore didn't do something to help her keep the Longbottom Wizengamot seat and family home. Augusta had married into the Longbottom family from a rather poor one, without the Longbottom money and influence Augusta would not be able to live the lifestyle she was very much accustomed to, plus she had lost her only son. Dumbledore to keep her happy had used Franks blood in a ritual to add Longbottom blood to Caellum to make him the new heir, spelled him in much the same manner he had Aurora then turned the child over to Augusta in an attempt to appease her, loosing the Lestrange connections for himself in the process.

Sirius wanted Caellum (he refused to use any other name for the child) 'home'. He couldn't live with his parents they still had to heal from their time in Azkaban and he couldn't be handed over to the ministry for fear that they might use him against his true family. Sirius was the closest sanest relative besides Narcissa whose husband wasn't trustworthy, and Andromeda who'd been disowned and was therefore no longer trustworthy. After talking it out again and again; they argued that he might not want to be rescued, the girls conceded to Sirius' wishes and hatched a plan to kidnap their cousin from his kidnappers.

They used the house elves to do a bit reconnaissance for them. Longbottom hall was too well defended, they would have to get Neville "Caellum" Sirius corrected, somewhere outside of those wards. Ideally they could get him at kings cross but Sirius thought it might be too well defended after 'Harry's' disappearance. Maggie suggested using a time turner and getting him before he left the station. But even if they had one already recharged Sirius vetoed the idea on the grounds that he didn't want Aurora to get time sickness she was already at risk. Besides there were other ways to manipulate, though not travel back in time, that didn't carry such risks. Sirius said he would teach them later. So instead they would get him while he was school shopping the ministry and the board of governor's had orchestrated a day for students to shop safely in the Alley all law enforcement agents would be on duty to make sure nothing went wrong. Of course that meant they were all on the look out for death eaters and no one else. But still kidnapping some one in that environment wasn't going to be easy.

Aurora used her contacts with the broom racing company to get them to agree with an advertising stunt in Diagon Alley on the safest day there was. She assured them that the Law would be there and so would most of the kids who went to Hogwarts. It would be as safe as it could be still just in case the company would send everyone going with portkeys. Most of the racers going were girls and pretty French girls at that. They set up stalls to sell brooms and accessories, and memorabilia for the racers. They racing girls flirted and signed autographs and played around with everyone.

Aurora placed a special lipstick in her pocket, it was laced with a mild sleeping agent and would make any one who came in contact with it temporarily confused. She of course was already protected from it. So when she spotted Neville in the crowd she applied the special lipstick same shade she was already wearing, she had done something similar to what she was preparing to do several times already so this wouldn't look suspicious. Then she moved herself through the crowd waving a small goodie bag she would be giving away for free. Turning her body she 'accidently' ran right into Neville. The poor boy took one look at her smile and slightly revealing attire and turned bright red. She grinned wider, and yelled for all to hear

"Looks like we have a new lucky winner!" the people around cheered, Mrs. Longbottom looked deeply disapproving.

"I'm sssorry, really!" poor Neville stammered.

"It's ok, here its free for you." Aurora gestured toward the bag and its extra long string,

"He'll only lose it" The old bat beside him stated. Aurora didn't even have to pretend not to take offence several of the crowd did as well. So she simply gave Neville a wide smile and gestured for him to come closer.

She opened the string put it around his head like a necklace used it to pull him even closer and planted a kiss on his cheek very close to his mouth. "There you go honey, you won't lose it now will you" and if the boy looked a little dazed well no one blamed him.

Maggie waited nearby looking for the perfect moment. Thinks to Auroras brining attention to them many of Mrs. Longbottom's friends and acquaintances' spotted her and as they were moving away from the racing stall they waved her down and began to talk. Seeing her opportunity, Maggie used her hips to shove Neville off away from his grandmother the spells in the lipstick did the rest as Neville wondered off.

Sirius waited until the disguised Caellum got close enough to his relatively deserted alley way, then grabbed his cousins arm, and guided the confused boy down the alley, yelling loudly about how he was too young to go off drinking and pining after girls. This particular alley had been chosen because of an old exit towards the muggle side once passed the alleys wards Sirius activated an illegal Black portkey and whisked them both away.


	6. Chapter 6

Sirius lay Caellum down on the healing bed Aurora had prepared ahead of time. The special bed would keep Caellum asleep for as long Aurora needed. Sirius had been forbidden from doing anything until the girls had scanned every inch of his body mind and soul, for a clear diagnosis. So the only thing left for him to do was wait for the girls to return. He paced back and forth anxious for his family to be back home and safe. Maggie arrived an hour after Siri arms loaded with shopping bags from things she had bought today. If would have looked to suspicious if she hadn't bought anything all day, so the others had a compiled a list of everything they needed or wanted and given her the money to get it all for them. Which included a few generic boy clothes and things they thought Caellum might need.

Aurora was stuck in the alley working for another hour before magical law enforcement finally come to talk to her. Which gave her plenty of time to hide what little evidence that might implicate her in any crimes. She gave it some time after Neville left her stall then turned to another girl working with her "Dawn I need a small break cover for me?" She than ducked into Quality Quidditch supplies used their toilet/powder room to dig out her make up kit. Using specially prepared wipes she cleaned herself of all make up and spell residue reapplied clean make up to her face, hid the contaminated lipstick in a secret warded compartment of her kit, and burned the wipes she'd just used vanishing the ashes for good measure. She even used the toilet just to make sure she wouldn't have to go later and risk her co-workers wondering why she'd taken so many breaks in such a short time span. Six minutes after she'd left Aurora returned to work and thanked the girls for covering for her, it was after all a busy part of the day.

Augusta Longbottom was sure the 'hussy' at the broom racing booth had lured her son off to do something wicked with him. The poor auror she'd grabbed and harped her story to; took that to imply her teenage grandson had snuck off for a booty call and wasn't all that worried about the kid. If he'd been stuck with that ancient old vulture (no he wasn't referring to her hat) he would have snuck off somewhere else to. It didn't help his mood that he was a high ranking and famous auror and baby sitting hormonal little kids was not a part of his job description.

"Hello, miss? I'm Auror Dawlish I need to ask you a few questions" Auror Dawlish asked. Looking her up and down and casting similar glances at the other girls working the temporary Stall advertising brooms from toddler safe to pro racing. Aurora had been organizing another goody bag and had to turn around to answer him. Looking up into his dour set face, Aurora gave him her best 'nice girl' smile. "First if I can have your name and business here?"

"Hello Auror, I'm Aurora Noir from De Lancret Racing. How may help you?" She made sure to give a French twist to her words.

"I'm here to inquire about a young boy whose wondered off I was told you might have seen him."

"No I'm sorry the booths are so packed I wouldn't have noticed a lost child I'm sorry but I can tell the other girls and we can keep a look out. Do you have a picture that we can view to be sure."

"No, I mean a young _teenage_ boy."

"Oh, well you will have to be a tad more specific no," She gestured around to the crowed of boys all gawking the brooms and girls alike.

"Well I was told you kissed this one" Dawn who'd been listening in ever since she caught the words 'missing kid' suddenly laughed and then turned to the Auror to introduce herself and explain.

"We have all 'kissed' several boys today." Seeing the perplexed looking officer and a rather disapproving matron who'd been eaves dropping for as long as Dawn herself had she clarified quickly. "We have about ten to twelve goody bags each with free merchandise, things like a free backstage pass if you buy a ticket to see us race, posters, toys, mini games and the like and we wonder the crowds every now and then find a random 'winner' kiss them on the cheek and hand over the bag."

Louisa, another co-worker, chimed in "I've given away most of mine already, I know Aurora has too. We are only supposed to be here until five."

"This one was with his grandmother, older lady funny hat shaped like a bird." Dawlish's eyes widened as two of the previously pretty and sweet girls actually _HISSED_ at him.

"Oh HER I remember and the poor boy she was dragging along with her. I accidently bumped into him you can see how thick the crowds are. I thought she would yell at me it was my fault but she started berating the poor boy instead so I gave him the prize but she made some remark about how he'd only loose it and didn't deserve it so I put the drawstring over his head like a necklace and gave him a big ol' smooch just to aggravate her. She drug him off muttering about his poor taste in girls never mind that he couldn't have known what I was going to do, let alone encourage me." Several of the others chimed in here and there giving there own opinions of the grandmother, none of them flattering.

"If I'd been stuck with a hag like that I'd of run off too." Louisa told him. "But that was last I saw either of them I know cause I kept a look out for the dear he's just my type shy and quiet I figured I'd get my own kiss in and see if he wanted to take my lunch break with me. He never came back this way." She was genuinely saddened by this and Dawlish thanked them for talking with him and went back up the alley this time looking far more troubled and he couldn't help but wonder if the grandmother hadn't been completely honest with him. When he'd searched the alley and alerted others to a missing teenage boy given his description out to all his colleagues and still found nothing, with a twist in his gut Auror Dawlish started a missing persons file and after some debating with himself, he added Augusta Longbottom as a suspect in the child's disappearance and flagged the whole thing as being very suspicious.

The rest of Aurora's work day was more or less boring as the Alley began to empty, she and others cleaned up there work stations, and the company rep supervising them closed up the stall and dismissed them to go home or shopping as there was a small about of time left still before the alley officially closed. Aurora set off for the Owl emporium, Sirius had insisted they needed a few more quality owls and Maggie had point blank refused to get them. Her argument that owls tended to hate her and the feeling was mutual thank you very much had only been accepted after a good deal of debating between the three of them.

Sirius had told her that her way with animals and the way she spoke to them seeming to know how they felt, what they were saying/wanting, was in fact not a normal witch thing unless that witch also happened to be able to beast speak. A trait that was rare but present in the Black family, was in fact common in the Slytherin's family line. He was therefore sure that she had it and had subconsciously been using it all this time, from the spiders in the cupboard under Petunia Dursley's stairs, to the various animals magic and mundane that she'd encountered to date.

Even untrained in it she'd be the best one to pick out Owl's who'd be loyal, hardworking, and intelligent. Sirius had asked they 'look' the part though that wasn't a nessicary requirement. So, first she found one that was also sweet and gentle for Maggie to feel more comfortable using, then three that looked majestic in addition to meeting the requirements. All them were either Snowy or All Black with a few grey markings. That way Hedwig wouldn't stand out with their owls.

Siri, tackle hugged her as soon as she returned home barely giving her enough time to set aside the cage full of owls. Maggie soon joined him, commenting that waiting and not knowing how things had gone on her end had been nerve wracking. They checked on Caellum to make sure he was sleeping ok, spelled some soup into his stomach a few spells to clean him up and another to activate the part of the bed that keep Caellum in a magically induced healing coma, just in case.

Tomorrow She would began the long process of diagnosing everything wrong with Neville to be sure nothing went wrong when she began reversing the spells so he could for the first time since he was an infant be himself again. Tomorrow was also the day they would begin the rituals to turn Maggie into Margose Cedrilla Black. Aurora went through her nightly routine and headed to bed early knowing another long day awaited them. She advised the others to do the same and had Winky take the owls to he owlrey where they'd be free to stretch their wings.

Caellum's blood was drawn and added to the nessicary potions and they were set to wait a wristband was added to his wrist with monitoring charms with its double wrapped around Auroras wrist so she would be informed the moment he needed anything and if his condition changed.

Several runic circles were drawn in a stone chamber and everything needed for the rituals was laid out. Because magic could interfere in the rituals once they got going only runic magic would be cast from here on out. So they had gathered several muggle bandages and devices to help where needed making everything a little bit safer.

The ceremony to reject Mr. Browns blood and strengthen her mothers was all up to Maggie unfortunately, so the new father to be contented himself with whispering words of encouragement and praise. Once finished with her part Maggie picked up the muggle bandages and adhesive and placed them where her athame had made the nessicary cuts to rid her of her former fathers DNA. She than with Aurora's help dismantles that rune circle and moved into center and larger circle where; and she had to remember to use his new name for this or they could mess it up, Orion Septimus Black was already kneeling waiting on her.

First _Orion_ took a large muggle need out of the supplies beside him then plunged it into the side of his pelvis deep into the bone marrow. Once he had the required amount he pulled it back out and placed a bandage over the spot to slow the flow of blood until the ceremony was over and he could be healed. He took the tube of marrow and hooked it up to a clean needle.

Maggie moved giving her soon to be new father access to her side so he could place the new needle into her own pelvis with the bone marrow transplant done _Orion_ started the chanting needed for the spell work to set the grounds for the adoption he than used his own athame to cut a place on both his arms. He used muggle medical tubing took into is arms than he cut Maggie's arms mirroring his own wounds. Then attached the other end of the tubing into her cuts allowing his blood to flow into her body all three of them were now chanting.

When the time was right Aurora gave the signal and they both stopped pulled out the tubing finished the spell and began to slowly and tiredly take apart the circle as soon as it was safe Aurora rolled both of them onto stretchers and with Winky's help got them up to the infirmary laid out on healing beds of their own she carefully using only mild potions cleaned and healed all the cuts and bruising accrued during the two rituals before leaving them to sleep it off. In the morning she would preform the tests to make sure all had worked according to plan. She checked on Caellum and started the next round of tests before making soup and once she'd eaten she slipped up to her room and fell asleep before she'd even finished laying down.


	7. Chapter 7

Sirius awoke first he checked on Maggie asked after her incessantly in fact. Until Aurora gave up being nice and ordered him to get himself some lunch before she put him back in the healing bed for a whole new reason. Sirius slunk off reluctantly, grumbling all the way about overly pushy healers.

Maggie would wake up sometime tomorrow once her body and magic had time to adjust to the changes having a new father would bring. Already her hair previously golden blonde was now half platinum, half black, where it would settle or if it would remain that way was yet to be seen. Her eyes once checked had taken a cloudy/stormy quality indicating that they too would change in the end, it looked to Aurora that they might darken slightly from their baby blue.

Her magic was swirling peacefully around the changes in the colors that usually indicated whether or not a core leaned light or dark were fluctuating slowly; nothing to be concerned about yet but Aurora made a note on her chart to check it later for anomalies. It seems she might have inherited some the Black's metamorphmagus traits, only time would tell by how much.

Caellum's test's were all back and Aurora took the results to her work station and began searching through her medical texts to formulate the best treatments possible. She wasn't a master healer, her knowledge level was firmly in the journeymen's category. It terrified her that she might mess up so like with Sirius she triple and quadruple checked everything. She referenced every book she had access too compiled all the information to make sure she had correctly identified every charm, potion, transfiguration, and hex she had found afflicting Caellum. She even consulted Sirius on some of them, and Sirius brought out portraits of past Healers and curse experts that they had descended from and Aurora consulted them as well adjusting her treatment plan accordingly.

To limit the amount of mistakes she could make she tackled one problem at a time and ran diagnostic tests after each round of treatment to make sure she hadn't missed anything or messed up. She concentrated first on anything that effected his mind. Three spells and potions each that reinforced loyalty to Augusta Longbottom and Albus Dumbledore. Two potions that reinforced his hatred of the Lestranges. Once compulsion to attack either verbally or physically depending on the situation anyone that didn't stand against the Dark lord and his forces.

Removing the compulsions first then carefully countering all the spells, took delicate precision. They were still easier than getting rid of the potions because all the potions had to be gotten rid of at once or neutralized before she flushed them from his system. The Neutralizer that got rid of the loyalty potions reacted badly to the potions that created a mild artificial love whenever he thought of the Longbottom family and the potions to get rid of that reacted badly with the ones that would get rid of the blood based potions that helped hold together the spells to make him look like Alice and Frank Longbottom.

So she would have to get rid of them in precise order, use a mild flush to get those potions and there counters out of his system then move on to the other more complex potions starting with the blood based one. She would then have to flush the blood based potions before undoing any other or she risked boiling his organs. The care it took to handle all that meant she'd spend the next two months healing him. She would start school before it would finished, but he needed constant monitoring. She brought her dilemma to Sirius to help find a work around.

"I did tell you before that I would teach you a way to manipulate time that wouldn't cause time sickness." Sirius looked thoughtful "I also wanted to start tutoring you and Mags on several essential things before the two of you start school."

"Two of us? I thought Maggie was just going to do homeschooling?"

"That's what she thinks at least but I've already entered her and Caellum into Athena's with you. They are just waiting for her, and his, International OWL's before its all official. Before you say anything I know she's not quite ready for those which is why I originally brought up teaching you both to manipulate time. I will bring out the reading for it and walk you girls through the process then you can help me set it up essentially we will be creating a new ward within the property within the 'ward' we will spend two months healing Caellum and tutoring Mags, but outside the 'ward' only four days will pass. Its more complicated than that mostly because we have to set up an artificial day and night system, but we can go over that later."

"That's great but will they be ready for those tests in only two months? Caellum will sleep throughout the process and Hogwarts curriculum is in no way on par with what Athena expects?" Aurora doubted.

"No its ok, we can do this with little magic as many times as we need will just have to change locations every time we need to do it. Once we set up and use a time 'ward' here we will have to wait six months before we can use this house to do it again. Not really a problem in our case because we have plenty of other properties at our disposal. It's two and a half weeks until Hogwarts starts, and everyone starts asking questions about where Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom are. It's six weeks until Athena's starts and so long as we have those test results in three weeks before term its ok. We will just spend every weekend somewhere new spending a 'month' tutoring twice before they take the test that should be plenty of time teach all of you what's needed. If not we can do a few mid week as well. I would rather not do it so often if we can help it." He paused in thought, "If need be we can post pone some the family stuff until after they take their tests."

"You are sure its safe?" Sirius rewarded her with a 'look' so she changed directions. "Ok , we do this but what about your new mother and her visit?" Indeed Cassiopeia Cedrilla had sent them a letter telling them she was thrilled to have a son and more so to have a granddaughter, it had also informed them that she would be visiting and when to expect her.

Sirius though waved off her concerns "She will get to spend more time grooming and testing you and Maggie she won't care at all I'm sure."

"And have you discussed Maggie's tutoring and schooling with Maggie yet?"

Her guardian gave her a sheepish smile. "Well no, but I'm her father now so she'll just have to except that I plan on spending loads of money on her and everything I think she might need or want or enjoy. I'll talk to her about it when she wakes up in a few hours. How is she doing?"

"Well her looks have changed more than we anticipated, she appears to be a cross between a true Selwyn and You. Her hair has done that same weird thing Narcissa's did and half of it is pretty Silver blonde and half is as Black as night just like yours is. Her cheek bones are sharper more traditional Black, her lips and eye shape are all Selwyn that is to say full and pouty rose red for her lips and large almost roundish eyes but their coloring is yours they are stormy grey with hints of the original baby blue. Her nose hasn't changed all she'll be glad for that she was afraid she'd get your."

"There is NOTHING wrong with my nose!"

She continued on s though she hadn't heard him. "Not that it would matter as she has also inherited a limited Metamorphmagus abilities. She can change her hair, nail and skin color and make minor alterations to her features nothing drastic just enough for her to have fun experimenting with. She has also inherited Purringtongue so she will have to be careful around felines. The moment it began to manifest in her magic my kneazle kits went crazy trying to check her out they won't stay out of the infirmary now. We won't know if she can fully speak it like I can parseltongue until she wakes but at this point I'm pretty positive she can."

"Can I sit with her now I would like to be the one to explain it all to her." Siri asked hopeful.

"You may, the adoption process is fully finished we just have to wait for her to wake up. Don't go poking at any of Caellum's stuff some of its highly volatile I won't have you ruining it." She completely ignored his innocent 'who me? I wouldn't do that' look. By now she knew better. She went about cleaning up and getting Caellum ready to start his treatments.

* * *

Sirius was right when he said Cedrilla wouldn't mind the time manipulation more time she'd get to spend with her new family. She had arrived the day after Maggie had awoken via flying carriage (Her Granians were terrified of Auroras Nightmare and gave him a wide birth).

Cassiopeia Cedrilla Black was gorgeous and timeless in her looks it was clear to anyone who'd been raised in wizarding world that she was much older than she looked. In fact her new family already new she'd been born in 1897. She appeared in muggle terms just over middle aged. Her hair like Maggie's was two toned, silver and Black, Cassiopeia had hers in a twisted bun on top of her head with curls artfully spilling out here and there. Her dress while conservative was also the height of fashion.

She'd tutted over the state of there clothes and happily informed them that she had rolls of Acromantula silk, dragon hide, and Tebo hide. She even had various furs for winter wardrobes including yeti and dire wolf. "Not to worry four of my house elves are specialized seamstresses. We can fix you all up in no time. They'll use the time dilation to get to it and that'll give you two time to learn how to walk and talk right, heaven knows you need lessons in it, thank goodness I came." She then swept passed them up the stairs "I'll just settle in before diner."

Neither girl was sure what to make of her, but Sirius Black loved her completely almost immediately; she called him Ori or my sweet boy, and would baby talk to him when she thought he was being childish. Grams as she insisted they call her also wanted to know everything about them. She helped set up the time 'ward', explaining in simpler terms when one of them didn't understand Sirius. She was a socialite publicly but a master potioneer professionally.

To say Grams was angry when she found out about Caellum, and learning Aurora had rescued herself and Sirius with only Maggie and an elf for help, was like saying nesting dragons get testy. The only thing that had stopped her from finding Dumbledore and flaying him alive while slowly roasting him on a pig spit, was the fact they had already entered the time ward and no one could leave until it had ran its course in four days real time, which for them would be two months.

Sirius just hoped that would be enough time her to cool down. Cassiopeia happily reviewed Aurora's notes and made sure there were no mistakes as far the potions were concerned she had some medic-witch training and was happy to lend a hand, tweaking the potions for maximum effect where possible and helping to speed up Caellum's recovery. Of course she was also quite impressed with what Aurora had so far. The treatment plan was solid and even emergency's and things going wrong had been prepared for, to the point that it wasn't so much plan A as it was plan A through Z.

Cassi looked over her family and sighed. "Alright I have several concerns and hopefully their solutions to address, first things first, Aurora darling girl I know referring to my son as his original name is comforting, but you must stop." She held up her hand to forestall all protests and comments for now. "Someday you will slip up to the wrong person, and they will investigate, our whole family, all of our dealings legal and not will be put in danger. This can not happen. To that end we will practice for these two months we will with great care begin to pierce together our past I've brought temporary de-aging potions, children's clothes, and props so we can stage various rooms and activities to photograph and make memories for others view should it be nessicary, this process may even help you beat Veritaserum in the right circumstances."

"I understand, I do, its just hard, when I chose my freedom I left everyone I cared about even a little behind. Siri is all I have left. I will work on referring to him as Orion from now on, even in my head."

"I wanna know what you meant by learning to walk and talk!" Maggie declared.

"Darling granddaughter our family is worth billions, Orion himself is worth a couple hundred billion, a paltry sum compared to my own worth of six hundred billion. That's just our part of the family some are worth more or a bit less but never by much. A family like ours teaches our children how to walk and talk to make every little move scream I am your better bow before me."

"Now that doesn't mean you need to be cruel or look down on others, so don't get your knickers twisted but she has a point no one is going to believe I raised the two of you as we are now." Sirius agreed with his mother. She also had a point about his name even he still referred to himself by his original name and not just in his head. He would have to train himself not to respond to that name any longer.

"So how do we fix that?" Maggie asked. With what else but a spell, yes a spell that once applied to your person zapped you every time your posture was anything but perfection. Grams was rather gleeful to apply it to them all including 'Orion' who complained profusely.

"You are only making so much noise because you KNOW you have been slipping up and acting like a common street urchin. You will renew your lessons and set a better example for our girls and for that poor boy upstairs who has only ever had that dreadful bitch to immolate!"

"Mother your language!"

"Now girls we will devise a study plan to get Margose up to speed for her education and will work on pronunciation, grace, and etiquette for both you from now on. Their will be no study time in that regard as I expect both of you to live it. That's the best way to learn after all."

That was exactly how their next two months went by. Caellum slept and healed a little more every day. Sometimes the others would sit nearby and watch as she worked on him offering help where ever they could. Other times they offered only silent comfort. After all the spells and potions affecting his brain and how he perceived reality were removed Aurora gently placed the Potter family Occlumancy Helm upon his head. With any luck he would watch those old memories and realize that he no longer felt the same about them as he did before. Maybe it would help him not only acknowledge, but embrace who he truly was in the end.


	8. Chapter 8

Neville found himself floating between a world of swirling greys and the darkness. He didn't like this new strange world for one his brain itched and nothing he did could stop it. He thought he might be going mad.

Finally in the middle of watching the grey swirls fluctuate they began to glow color seeped into his world and suddenly he stood in a _nursery watching as a baby boy slept the room was tastefully decorated in shades of blue green and silver. The shelves were overflowing with items, learning toys, blocks, soft plush chest set, a toy broom stick, plus more. The Changing table was well stocked, and often used. The rocking chair sat by a large window overlooking some magnificent gardens if Neville did say so himself. The chair was covered in soft pillows and blankets._

 _He watched as the door creaked open,_ Neville felt his gut twist as he the mirror on the wall showed who was behind the door _. The infant rolled over and stood up in his crib his little eyes watched the door attentively suddenly a face peaked in gasped in mock surprise._ Neville wanted to grab the baby up before the mad woman could. _"You are awake!"_

 _The baby boy giggled and clapped. 'mamma." "mama up" "Now mamma" Wait what?_

 _Laughing Bellatrix leaned in "Whose my good boy come on Caellum lets go find your papa."_ Wasn't this Bellatrix Lestrange the mad women who loved no one but her master, the woman who'd tortured his own parents into madness, robbed him of the love and affection that might have been bestowed by his parents.

While Neville had been lost in thought mother and son had moved off to another part of the home and brought him with them. They had left the main area and moved into, had this been a muggle house a garage. _A man wearing only leather breaches and apron/tunic thing was beating on a hunk of metal. He sat his work aside when he heard the boy squeal for him._

 _Laughing and clapping his hand the baby was delightedly calling "Papa, Papa" "me, Papa, me" Rodolphus Lestrange pulled off his apron/tunic and used a towel to wipe off his brow, face and hands from soot. The man was ripped his muscles had muscles. The gaunt half man who'd escaped Azkaban was hardly a shadow of the one that stood before him now._ Neville realized with a start, he had no dark mark.

 _"Really, Rod, must you continue this plebian hobby, of sword making!" Her voice was far too sweet and amused for this to be a true reprimand._

 _"Of course, what else would I do" Rodolphus laughed "I'd have all the spare time to annoy you, can you imagine!"_

 _He adopted a strange smile and stalked forward suddenly lunging one wrapped around his wife's rear end the her waste bringing her and his son up too him as they all laughed. Bellatrix's laughing screams of "Put me down you overgrown brute." where ignored. "Brute I say, Brute!" her mouth met his and the baby made a noise disgruntlement_

 _"Dop dat" "NO NO NO"_

 _Both parents broke apart laughing as husband sat his wife back on her feet._

The world swirled back to gray only now a small orb like those in the department of mysteries was now laying on the floor with him. Not that Neville paid much attention to it. His mind of full of other thoughts. Who had shone him this and why, How was any of it real? What had happened to those two? How had they became the evil he new them to be? What had happened to their son surely he would have heard of another Lestrange. He was sure his gran had told him that the only Lestrange left outside of those formerly in Azkaban was a positively ancient man who'd holed himself up in Lestrange Hall, on some remote island somewhere. He floated in the gray for a time then just as before color began to seep around him as the world changed and brought him back to the Lestrange family minus Rodolphus. They were in a sitting room this time.

 _The fire place flared green a woman dressed conservatively stepped out, she was pretty and looked enough like Bellatrix to be siblings. Neville knew she couldn't be however because he had met Andromeda and Narcissa this woman didn't look to be either of them._

 _"Aunt Charis! You're here!" Bellatrix exclaimed "And did you not bring any of your own children?"_

 _Charis smiled, hugged her niece, "I brought my youngest Aurora, she moved her shawl to show a tiny little girl underneath. "I would have brought my boys but they've both managed to catch a cold and didn't want your own little Caellum to catch it"_ Neville thought wasn't that a strange name 'kale um' that wasn't a traditional Lestrange name was it? Maybe Bellatrix had used a Black family name instead?

 _The women had moved on to the back of the room where a crib was set up and a bassinette beside it Caellum was in the Crib an little sleeping Aurora was placed into the bassinette. They then moved to sit on the love seat drinking tea and gossiping laughing at the antics of various family members. Little Caellum was studying baby Aurora with fascination._

 _"Well Bella I hear you have news?" Charis asked delight seeping into her voice._

 _"I do I'm pregnant again four months along, I'm hoping for a girl this time!"_

 _Suddenly the fire place flared the wards fluctuated both women jumped up as several men and one woman flooded into the room flinging spells. The new woman threw a spell at Bellatrix knocking her out Charis cried no she's pregnant stop. The new woman threw a new curse at Bellatrix connecting with her stomach immediately blood flooded the floor around Mrs. Lestrange as the unborn baby was forcibly expelled from her body._ Neville wanted to throw up, he screamed and shouted sure these people must be death eaters, despite their Auror get up their faces were obscured by their red hoods. _Charis too was finally knocked out and the female auror let down her hood._

Neville shook his head in denial no it couldn't be just NO.

 _Alice Longbottom looked over to the others. "quick get what we came for and lets go. She pointed at the fire place let loose a spell, as one of men Grabbed the now crying babies and shoved them in a basket. She then pulled a phoenix feather from her pocket and all the men grabbed hold with her and were gone in a whoosh fire._

 _They reappeared in an office Neville was sure he'd never seen before despite recognizing the man behind the desk. Albus Dumbledore was waiting and smiled when he saw and heard the basket. Both babies were making quite the racket._

 _"GOOD!" Dumbledore smiled as they handed over the kids. "Well that is a small problem, We were only prepared for one I'm afraid I've no where to put the girl, one of you must take her" Dumbledore had picked up the boy and tuned around to lay him in a new basket in the back._

Neville had never seen so many people move so fast before Frank and Alice teleported out dropping a small ward stone to prevent the others from doing the same the last three a set of twins that vaguely reminded Neville of the Weasley's, and a man that looked like a much taller, brown eyed version of Harry promptly began a small quiet prank war the twins won, one gave a mighty shove the not a twin was propelled forward, the other twin glued the 'Harry lookalike' to the floor and bolted out the door.

 _"Oh James" Dumbledore exclaimed turning back around "Good of you to volunteer. The process will only take a moment" Dumbledore grabbed the strangest looking potion he'd ever seen took some of James blood added it to the bottle then fed the bottle to the baby chanting all the while. James never moved, just stood there rooted to the spot. "there you go by tomorrow morning you'll register as her third parent best of luck, what will you name her?"_

 _James finally moved, his mouth began moving long before sound managed to get out what looked suspiciously like, my wife, "Hopeshedoesn'tkillme"_

 _"Hope you said, my dear boy, that is a lovely name I didn't quiet catch the rest?, OH, I must go Mipsy see to young master Lestrange will you." Dumbledore than hurried out._

 _"Can Mipsy helps you?"_

 _James embarrassed turned to the house elf "I've been magicked to the floor" Mipsy Helped free him._ Neville stood numb as the world of grey returned, darkness followed.

Neville awoke to the grey abyss, as he was beginning to get accustomed to. The itch was back, which was bothersome but Neville was still mostly content. That is until he caught sight of two small colorful orbs, and remembered. His mother had murdered Bellatrix's unborn child and both his parents had participated in Kidnaping two children from loving homes.

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Who was he? Neville didn't know how long it had been since he'd started to view what he had long now suspected were his own memories. He'd not been sure at first then more and more had come Dumbledore and Augusta Longbottom talking over a baby Caellum and making him look like Frank and Alice, Dumbledore warning the process had been flawed that while people wouldn't remember that her grandson had died at only a few weeks old many had gossiped about the boy being a squib. Warning her that initial tests would show Frank as the baby's father but any deeper at all the ruse would be up.

Neville had then watched his own Childhood up to arriving in Diagon Alley to school shop for his sixth year. The pretty girl that reminded him of the old pictures of his great grandmother Callidora Longbottom, Augusta's mother in law whom Augusta had hated.

The world of gray or rather his own awakened mind, was now one of order and comfort it had changed around him as watched his life unfold. Neville had begun to employ what few Occlumancy technique's he new to help deal with it, and organize his mind accordingly. That pretty girl had baby Aurora's eyes and he couldn't be sure but he thought they might be one in the same. Had she done this? Had she wanted him to remember her? Maybe? Why? Was this real? He didn't know. It was with these questions running around his head that Neville opened his eyes and awoke to the real world.


	9. Chapter 9

**_I own nothing. J.K. Rowling is the proud creator of Harry Potter, I am merely playing with the products of her imagination._**

Today was the day, Caellum would wake up a full two weeks sooner than originally predicted, thanks in part to Grammy Cassi. She would need to speak to him to insure he knew what would happen now. They were not bad people, and would not be keeping their own blood imprisoned. While he couldn't go back to the Longbottom family he didn't have to stay here either. Though they would all prefer it if he did. He had options and she would go over them with him as soon as she told him her story and his.

Aurora changed her clothes four times. She did her hair, pulled it all out again. She cast the spells that would make her look like Harry, made herself nauseous when she looked in the mirror. Took all the spells off took a shower and started all over again. Finally she put on the most comfortable healer ware she owned, (still too high end for taste) put her hair in a pony tail and just took a seat by Caellum's bed.

His eyes twitched long lashes fluttered open and Neville groaned as he moved his body. The first thing he noticed was that while he could stretch and maneuver some he couldn't sit up completely. Before he could panic however, someone laid a gentle hand on his arm and whispered his name.

"Neville, it's ok, your safe." Aurora gave her cousin her sweetest smile "You are in a healing bed, right now its set to keep you laying down comfortably once I change the setting you'll be able to sit up and eat and in time to get out of bed and move around your room."

"But I can't right now?" Neville's eyes widened as he heard the changes in his voice.

"Only as a precaution, you've been in healing coma for nearly two months, while your body went through some necessary changes."

"What changes? Where is my Gran?" He demanded.

"She isn't here, she will never be allowed here." Aurora took a deep breath and looked into Caellum's dark purple/gray eyes. "There are some things you need to know. First you are not our prisoner you are here to heal, to learn, and then you may stay or leave if that is your wish. Second my name is Aurora and everyone here is related to you in some way, none of us will harm you, thirdly we have met before, back then I was wearing a very different face."

"How different?"

"Well, when you were twelve you had your first wet dream. You had forgotten to close your curtains and I thought you were in pain or something and woke you up just before you got to the good part if your whining was any indication. If that isn't enough."

"There's no way your Harry!"

"When we were thirteen you had huge crush on Septima Vector and kept calling out professor in your sleep then in class when she leaned over you to get a book you got a look down her shirt and came right in your pants."

"I believe you, you can stop now" He'd turned red in embarrassment.

"Then there was the incident with Seamus in fifth year" Ceallum yelled interrupting her.

"We agreed to never mention that again!"

Aurora laughed nodding "We did, didn't we."

"So, your Harry." Caellum sounded a little lost there.

"Not exactly. On October thirty first nineteen eighty one the dark lord Voldemort attacked the potter house hold, killing James, his wife Lily and unbeknownst to the rest of world there fifteen month old son Harry. Dumbledore was counting on his access to the potter votes and money so he acted fast and used a child, me, that James Potter had helped kidnap and adopt on Dumbledore's orders, as a decoy. He made the world think I was Harry. Then used me to further his own plans."

"That's crazy! Someone would've noticed eventually surely! What about the healers that gave you your immunizations, or yearly check up. Or even the school nurse after all the time you spent with her."

"The school nurse is barely qualified and is insanely loyal to Dumbledore. As for the rest I never received any. Dumbledore as Harry's legal guardian declined to allow any other healer to look at me, him. You know what I mean."

"It's the same reason Augusta Longbottom only ever allowed her brother to look over you"

"What do you mean?" Caellum asked with trepidation, recalling his earliest memories.

"On July thirtieth nineteen eighty, Alice Longbottom gave birth to a very sick baby. The healers concluded that the infant was a squib and might have a better chance of living if they moved the baby to a muggle hospital. The family declined and two weeks later the little boy died." Aurora continued to tell Caellum about Dumbledore's order and how they 'removed kids from undesirable homes' and relocated them to Dumbledore's allies and supporters. Some had been gifted others sold or exchanged for votes and support where Dumbledore needed it.

Than she continued on with Caellum occasionally interrupting to ask questions. Telling him about how she had discovered everything and how she had stolen from Dumbledore, and found out about him. He wasn't as surprised to learn his real name as she imagined he would be. She told him how they thought Dumbledore had used a modified fidelus charm to hide Neville's death, and his deal with Augusta Longbottom after Frank and Alice had been incapacitated.

"So what happens to me now? I don't have any where else to go."

"You stay here with your family learning all you need about how to not just survive but thrive." Aurora smiled, "And if your up to it you can join me and our cousin Maggie at Athena school of the Arcane arts when school starts back up."

"You mean I'd have to miss a year of schooling?"

"No absolutely NOT!" Aurora explained about the time dilatation wards, the family plan to get him and Maggie up to speed, and to teach them all a couple new languages that would help them at the new school. Athena school of the Arcane had a portal to the Library of Alexandria as did many other schools, as well as a portal to the Pantheon and the conclave of Oracles in Greece. The primary language used in the school was Fae Latin, so Aurora would have to brush up on that herself, it would be rigorous but both Caellum and Margose should be good enough to get by when school time came, they would continue to learn it at school. All of them would be using a combo of Language Lozenges' (a potion mix), translation spells, and a work book to learn Greek, and Egyptian Arabic. "As soon as you are up to scratch you'll take your IOWL's" Then we'll spend time learning about our families. We can visit your great uncle Rolland at Lestrange Hall on your families private island, maybe do a time ward there to give you more time learning about things you would have learned about growing up. We also have to take pictures and complete a background for you so it looks like you've been living with Uncle Orion, Grams and us all along."

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Meeting 'Grammy Cassi' was a bit overwhelming but the old gal was truly kind. She and Orion often gave him praise and even when they were correcting him they did so firmly without being unkind. In school work Orion taught them Arithmancy, Runes, and a bit of DADA. He also taught them physical education mostly sword fighting with some hand to hand thrown in. Grams taught them, Herbology, Potions, and Care of Magical creatures, (She owned a Fur Company whose animals were also apart of her own private Sanctuary) the fur was carefully harvested with out harming or killing the animals in question, in fact they were some of the healthiest animals in 'captivity' you could find. They used the portraits and Library and Aurora for the rest. Grams gifted all three of them with school primers from ages three to seventeen and had them fill them out at first using their off hands so the primers really looked like they had been written by small kids. The results left them ambidextrous and with reference material they could take to school with them with out fearing anyone would see them and ask questions about new children's primers. They left the French Chateau mid week after the time ward finished made a quick stop to get Caellum tested first for a new wand then at the banks for his inheritance evaluation and Estate Management was added to his classes by Sirius who would help him learn everything he needed to manage his own finances, then they moved into Black Castle Germany to cast the time ward again, by the time this one was finished they were all sure Caellum and Maggie could pass their IOWL's with EE's at the least. They did do very well.

International standard Ordinary Wizarding Levels

Caellum Rodolphus Lestrange

Languages

Welsh O

Spanish E

Egyptian Arabic E

Greek E

Magical Languages

Gobledegook A

Fea Latin E

Elvish A

D.A.D.A. O

Transfigurations E

Charms O

Potions E

Herbology O

Astronomy O

History E

Muggle Studies A

Runes O

Arithmancy O

Warding E

Healing A

Magical Theory O

Accounting and taxes E

Basic Laws O

Estate Management E

International standard Ordinary Wizarding Levels

Margose Cedrilla Black

Languages

French O

Spanish E

Russian E

Egyptian Arabic E

Greek A

Magical Languages

Gobledegook A

Mermish A

Fea Latin E

D.A.D.A. E

Transfigurations E

Charms O

Potions O

Herbology E

Astronomy O

History E

Muggle Studies O

Runes O

Arithmancy O

Warding A

Healing O

Magical Theory E

Accounting and taxes E

Basic Laws E

Estate Management O

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With the results turned into their new school they received the official acceptance letters letting them know what would be needed. They used the existing trunk templates Aurora herself had invented and used to make their own rooms, with Aurora making a few more for herself as they kept coming up with good ideas and suggestions she hadn't at first thought of. They shopped all over for what they would take with them. Books were bought from publishing companies, but other stuff meant trips to strange bazaars, and estate sales both muggle and magical around the world. The potion ingredient's were only purchased after Grams had carefully inspected it. Warding stones were pulled out of the Black Family vaults and adapted for them to use at school.

More elves were purchased and bonded to Caellum and Maggie at a dingy store in Romania that both swore never to travel to again. Pegasus were gifted from Grams who honestly had too many anyway (She also owned several Pegasus breeding barns and race tracks for horses). They took pictures of themselves both as they were now and de-aged in traditional children's clothes at every place they stayed including Gram's favorite home. In the end they each had a rather extensive photo albums and lots of fun memories. Grams had contacted Rolland Lestrange and finally gotten a reply back so the weekend before they needed to catch the boat to school was spent in a time dilation ward on his island.

Rolland Was ancient by anyone's standard, even the Flamel's. He was also not long for this world and admitted that knowing Caellum was alive had been the only thing keeping him going this summer. He wouldn't make it another couple of months and was grateful he would have this opportunity to get to know his youngest nephew and to teach him what he would need to be Lord of the Ancient and Noble House. He gifted him with the heirs ring upon their first meeting and everyday after breakfast until well past lunch on most days they would sit in Rolland's office or more often by his bed, talking about the family legacies and what Caellum's ancestors had been like and fought for and how and who they had loved. It was cathartic for Caellum who was finally able to see his family as people rather than the monsters he had been told they were. Rolland shared many memories via the family pensive of himself growing up and the Lessons he had learned from his own uncles, father, grandfather, and older cousins. Then the lessons he and his brother had given Caellum's father and uncle Rabastan.

Caellum was given access to the family books, Journals, Grimoire's, and genuine Books of Shadows passed down from thousands of years of history. All the while Maggie and Aurora took to exploring the Lestrange grounds and sunning themselves in the private gardens. The house was an old forte with enough secrete passages to rival Hogwarts. It was also funny shaped inside especially. So spiral stairways led nowhere at all and seemingly shallow alcoves' turned into long hallways.

They studied for their new classes together at night spoke about the things they liked to do occasionally making trips around the home and grounds to try new things, as a way to stem off boredom. The girls had even gotten Cael's opinions' on several scents and begun to make him colon's for school.

At some point during the summer Cassiopeia had taken it upon herself to contact other branches of the Black family to see if any had kids going to Athena school of the Arcane already or as new students this year. When she had confirmations that there were she arranged for them to meet at the boat docks in Spain earlier than normal so the kids could be introduced to each other. They would all share a large already paid for by Grams cabin so they could get to know one another on the way to school, in the hopes they would like and look out for one another. Or rather Grams hoped they would like one another and whether they did or not they would still stick by and defend each other because they were family. Grams said you could poison your cousins and curse your siblings all you wanted but you'd best rain Hell down on anyone else that tried the same.


	10. Chapter 10

Caellum was in Lestrange Hall more specifically, at the desk in his new office, space set aside for the family heir. He had his own suit of private rooms, his own dining room and breakfast nook for entertaining his personal guests. His uncle had wasted no time in moving him in and making sure he had everything. From family heirlooms, toys, knick-knacks, and clothes to spending money for anything else he might need. It was more than he'd ever owned in his life. Rolland Lestrange had gone out of his way to make sure Caellum new he was wanted and appreciated.

He wasn't happy. Surrounded by his new family and new things, all he could think about was his little room in Longbottom manner filled with old worn toys and a stuffed teddy that had long ago seen better days but was now loosing stuffing out the stitches. He was a sixteen year old boy for fucks sake he shouldn't be missing a teddy, but he was. He was also spitting mad at Augusta Longbottom who hadn't mistreated him for all that she had been overbearing. The woman had never harmed him physically and had kept many of those who'd wanted to scare the magic out of him away. On the other hand she had knowingly kept him from his own family, helped put his real parents in Azkaban for life, constantly compared him to her son and found him wanting.

His drastic changes in looks however were much more appreciated. He had his father's looks and his mothers eyes, and curls. He had gained a few inches in height since he'd awakened in France. Much of his baby fat had melted away to make room for muscles.

The aurors were still searching for Neville Longbottom several news articles had appeared in papers all over about the missing heir. Augusta had cried out in the interviews about worried she was, telling the world that her poor defenseless grandson was all she had. Caellum hated it all, with every article read, and every wireless news program that aired his stomach tied tighter in knots. He had to do something, to that end, he'd spoken to his uncle and to grandma Cassi, about the Longbottom family line of succors. In other words who was supposed to be in charge with Frank incapacitated at the hospital.

Originally Neville had assumed it would be one of the many older relatives he was already familiar with after years of family holidays and Augusta's Sunday family tea's. It wasn't. As it turns out Augusta's husband Herbert had an adopted brother Cuthbert. Cuthbert Longbottom had been son of one of Carlson Longbottom's favorite cousins. When the cousin had died from outbreak Carlson had adopted Cuthbert as his own son and raised him as such going so far as to do a partial blood adoption to make Cuthbert eligible to inherit should Herbert die or not have kids.

With Frank unable to care for the family and no other heirs present Cuthbert's family became the main family line. Augusta however had hated Cuthbert from the moment she met him, while Herbert had been alive Augusta had merely excluded Cuthbert from everything she could and ignored him with she couldn't when Herbert had died, Augusta had cut Cuthbert off entirely banning him from all the properties and family events. Rather than contact the family himself Caellum instead hired a private investigative firm.

Kalm, Ross, and Burks, were very good at digging up dirt on everyone from politicians to the standard cheating spouse. So Caellum set up a meeting and told them what he new about Neville Longbottom's death and hired them to prove it. With-in a few months the whole world would know and Augusta would face an inquiry as to whom she had been passing off as her grandson and what she had done to him after.

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Aurora wanted to find her family more and more. While Orion, Maggie, Cassi, and Caellum had filled the whole and given her more than she'd ever imagined in the way of emotional support and security, she longed to know her mother. Would the woman be like Petunia with Dudley willfully ignorant of all her child's faults or more like Molly who'd been more observant than her children wanted and at times somewhat smothering though well meaning. Charis was a Black so maybe she would be like Narcissa who seemed so cold and aloof. How would her brothers treat her? Caellum acted like she was made of glass most of the time, and took great care with both herself and Maggie, Which while sweet was also infuriating. The Weasley Twins had treated Ginny as if she were a monster to be feared most of the time but had mercilessly pranked her boyfriends until they understood harming their sister would be bad for their remaining sanity and health.

She had tried writing to her mother to no avail. Cassi had tried as well but there didn't seem to be any way to reliably contact Charis or her sons. The only way to contact her family would be through her father. The same father who was certifiably nuts. She had found his horcrux among the things she had taken from Grimauld Place. She hadn't known what it was at first, just a locket with Slytherin house emblem on it. Her diagnostics meant to find curses hadn't been able to figure out what the locket was but her specialty was healing. Out of frustration and not expecting it to actually work she'd thrown a charm at it meant to check out a persons circulatory system. It had come back with results. Odd out of whack results but still more than it should. From their she'd thrown every healing test at it that she could with out a blood sample and been able to come up with a working theory on what the locket was. She'd then searched through all the books she had access to for information on possessed objects, soul containers, and spirit chests; until finally she had come across the word horcrux.

The soul piece was smaller than it should be, the containment wards were off, the charms for connecting it to the main part were non existent. The horcrux needed healed as much as the main soul piece did. She just didn't know how to go about doing it. If she could start connecting the pieces together she just might be able to restore her fathers sanity. Though to be honest a sane Voldemort hell bent on taking over sounded terrifying.

She had previously researched healing souls, in conjunction with dementer damage. So she knew how to purify the soul piece and cleanse it of foreign contaminants. It took a lot of research into necromancy to figure out how to locate the other pieces of her fathers soul. For now she didn't know enough to do much but she would keep the locket safe and had signed up for necromancy class's at Athena's hopefully she would closer by the end of the year. She was only fifteen and thanks to Dumbledore pretending she was Harry's age and her own use of time turners; she was way above where she might normally have been in her education. If she'd not made progress my the years end, she would contact her father any way and just risk it.

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Molly Weasley sat at her kitchen table worried, the more she read the worse she felt. This was just one problem after another for her to worry over. Harry had gone missing, Arthur had come home complaining about inquiries at work. Several prominent couples many of whom they were friends with had been accused of kidnapping or illegal adoption, and now according to the newspapers Neville had gone missing and Arthur had heard the main suspect was child's own grandmother. Finally, putting down the paper she kissed Arthur goodbye and cleaned up while waiting for Fred and George. It was urgent that they be here soon when no one else would be about to hear what she needed to talk to them about.

She and Arthur had spoken to Dumbledore about the kidnapping accusations and Molly for one had not liked his answer. Dumbledore had told her it would all work out. That they needed to stay strong during these troubling times. That they couldn't afford to be divided. Never once had he looked her in the eye and said he hadn't kidnapped them. Never had he told her it was all a lie.

Arthur had told her not to worry about it. He said Dumbledore must have his reasons. She had never felt so torn. In the end she'd decided to do something about it herself. To that end the twins would be here soon, and they would here her confession. No matter what it did to her family the truth would be out at least.

The floo flared green as her boys stepped through. Molly asked them "Please come sit down." Gesturing towards her worn with age dining table. "There's something I need to tell you and I'm not sure where to begin."

Both Fred and George took seats on the opposite side of the table from their mom she'd sat tea out for them and figure sandwiches. Moly sat her folded hands down on the table in front of her as she debated where to start.

"During the last war my brothers Gideon and Fabian were aurors who worked with Dumbledore in his Order of the Phoenix" Molly took a shaken breath and held up her hands forestalling any questions from the kids. "Please I need to say this at once so wait until the end to speak. It's just if I don't get it out now I don't know how I ever will."

"My brothers; although I loved them dearly I can admit I barely knew them they were after all much younger than me. I was a housewife and mother of three. I had had a miscarriage before Percy was born and carrying Percy nearly killed me. The healers advised me not to have any more if I wanted to live."

"Shows what they knew!" George joked. Molly sobbed and shook her head no.

"They were right of course so Arthur and I resigned ourselves to stopping at three and that was okay. We decided three would be all we really needed anyway. Then one day while I was putting Percy down for his nap the aurors called there had been an attack at Prewitt house and they needed me come and open the wards and to answer some questions for them, so Celeste Lovegood came over to watch the boys and I went with the aurors to my childhood home."

Molly paused here to reach out for a napkin to dry her eyes and blow her nose. "When I arrived their were still bodies everywhere and Gideon's body had been blown into the house the wards were still up so they needed me to let them in to retrieve his body."

She sobbed again but carried on. "I did so but couldn't stand to look at him like that so I left to go to the next room I heard something odd and realized that I knew that sound! At first I thought I'd gone nuts but then I heard it again and I saw the end of the blanket covering the old side table move, so I got down on my hands and knee's and looked and their they were the cutest little boys naked as newborns and identical right down to the freckle on their left butt cheeks."

She ignored the gasps coming from the twins. The looks of disbelief that now adorned their faces. Fred was shaking his head in denial. "I pulled them, you, out from under the table and I was trying to wrestle you little rascals into my arms one of you pulled my hair and the other tried to crawl under my skirt. Laughing as you went. You were both just such wonderful little rays of sunshine on a horrible day. You made me laugh and I was just about to call for the aurors when Dumbledore came running into the room. talking nonsense about how happy he was that my kids were ok. He told the aurors that Gideon and Fabian had been baby sitting my youngest for me. And he quietly ordered me to not talk. Then the next thing I knew I was taking you both home with me. He told me your real parents were deceased and that the information regarding them was confidential for your safety. At the time I believed him. I had no reason not to believe him. Not then. Not in the years since, until now. So Arthur and I kept you adopted you, We were going to tell you when you came of age. Now I know he lied. I just didn't know what to do about it."

Shocked the twins sat their for some time wondering what they should say.

"So I have a couple of questions?" She was certain she'd never seen George so confused. Fred sat the stoically not saying or doing anything. "Did you adopt Ron and Ginny too?"

"No, After we adopted you two money was very tight to make ends meet I started selling baked goods and caned preserves but it wasn't enough. With all the deaths people were genuinely afraid for their family lines for the first time in a long time. Healers and potion masters began looking for cures for all sorts of fertility problems. I had already had kids so it wouldn't have mattered in the long run if my uterus was damaged any further than it already was so when they asked for people to try out experimental treatments I signed up. I got paid quite nicely and to top it off healed for free. I put the money away as part of the savings we used to send all of you to school."

"So Dumbledore just dumped up on you didn't offer to help with anything?" George looked outraged.

"What did you mean by 'until now'?" Fred finally spoke up. "You said you had no reason not to believe him until now! What's changed?"

Here Molly hesitated but reckoned they deserved know it all including what had led to this meeting. "With first Harry's and then Neville's disappearances keeping the reporters busy the ministry and Dumbledore have been able keep a few other things out the public spotlight so to speak."

It started just after Harry's disappearance families, ministries, even several international groups the ICW among them began getting letters, and records they claimed as proof. Proof that Albus and some aurors working for him including my brothers had illegally removed children from loving homes in order to exploit them or their families. Ordinarily I wouldn't have believed it. However as a mixed group of people both domestic and foreign were chosen to look into things, it has been looking more and more as though the letters are correct. Several couples that we know are in a lot of trouble because they can't prove where their children came from."

"Worse, when I confronted Albus about the allegations and the two of you, he became evasive and wouldn't give me a straight answer."

"Not exactly proof, but certainly damning." Fred said. Do you know who our other parents are? Did you ever look?"

"I ran the spells that test for your name, most old families preform a naming ceremony for their kids, I did for mine even. But all that came up was mixed letters or fuzzy bits. I think someone blocked your names." Molly wiped her tears again. Took a steady breath and continued. "There are potions that can be used instead, but the ingredients are both expensive and illegal here in Britain. I'm so sorry boys. So very sorry


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

 _ **Disclaimer: Harry Potter world is the property of J. K. Rowling.**_

 _ **I am merely playing in her imagination.**_

 _ **I appreciate all constructive criticism and would like to apologize for my inconsistent updates and poor grammar. I do need a beta.**_

Cassiopeia had enlisted the house elves help and begun to obsessively check and double check to make sure they had everything they might need. All the Nine-Tailed Kneazles had their tags two for Maggie (They'd formed a familiars bond with her after the blood adoption) seven for Aurora, they had their paperwork licenses, healers reports, and colors with leashes on. Same for the all the Pegasus, and house elves that would be going with them. All the paper work and boat tickets were tucked into easy to an easy to access file and stored in her purse and Caellum's going away present was in Orion's room in its own crate.

Cassi stood with a check list as she called "Three enchanted multi-compartment trunks packed with personal belongings: heirlooms, jewelry and case, make-up, perfume/cologne, brooms, riding gear, cauldrons, potions ingredients, loose crystals, crystal balls, telescopes, Athame, bowls, candles, bathe salts, oils, lotion, soaps, shampoo, conditioners, Towels, bathe robes, washing clothes, regular clothes and shoes" were packed up, along with a full set of school uniforms with winter ware each. They checked there book cases to make sure they had the class list and the recommended list all there and packed. "Three mundane trunks with all of the enchanted trunk/doors? And are we sure you've all separated your doors into the correct piles no one has forgotten any have you? Everyone check you have your bathrooms packed up neat now. No need to slosh water everywhere."

Rolland pointed out that Aurora had an extra door, one that was glass and designed different than the others.

"That's her kitchen, no one else is bringing one of those." Maggie told him.

"Smart, planning your meals all together like that."

"Nah she's just the only one we trust to cook and not poison anyone."

"Like I said, smart."

"Caellum should have an extra door too. Unless he's forgotten to pack his greenhouse." Aurora called.

"I didn't forget. I had to take care of the venomous tentaculus this morning. I'm putting it in now."

"Good, Good, and Good!" Cassi exclaimed going over everyone's packing. "Now your carry on cases, do you all have them? Do a quick check. Pic-nick baskets their should be enough in their to feed the whole family for the entire journey. Three tea sets eight cups a piece one for you and each of your cousins. A chess board and a deck of cards a piece."

"Wonderful, that's everything, if you three would come here a moment We'd like a small word." Cassi beckoned them toward her, Rolland and Orion were already there.

Orion began "We just wanted to say that no matter what we are proud of all three of you. Each of you are independent, responsible, and brilliant. Together your capable of anything you put your minds towards. Traditionally when a child goes off to boarding school parents impart to them some gifts they hope will treat them well. I know I'm not your father Caellum, Aurora, but I love the two of you anyway and hope you don't mind me standing in for them one more time."

Grandma Cassi pulled a long rectangular box out from side table, leaving the door to it open, she passed the gift over. "Maggie my darling granddaughter this is for you." Maggie opened the box to find a hard backed leather covered book. "Its your own personal Book of Shadows, We've started you off with a few simple rituals and spells passed from mother to daughter and mother to son through out our family and hope it will serve you well. Look again." Maggie sat the book beside her and returned to the package removing it's false bottom she gasped as she found the largest most beautiful Jewelry set she'd ever seen. "There blue Sapphires, and Blue Diamonds, we thought they'd look breath taking on you and we were right. Each piece is engraved with the Black family crest for our branch of the family." Maggie slid one of the chokers around her neck and a bracelet around her wrist before closing the box up.

Another box not to different from Maggie's was pulled from the drawer and Cassi closed it after this time, handing the package over to Orion. "Aurora, my god daughter, my niece. This is yours." Inside was a small booklet that turned out to be a photo album of her mother growing up a few even contained her father and Sirius's Father together looking like best friends. The photo's changed after Charis was sold, pictures depicted her, Caellum and Maggie's fictional upbringing with Orion and Grams. Under her photo Album was a granite covered book of shadows just for her.

"Caellum, my dear nephew, I can't even begin to tell you how much joy you have brought me in my final days. These were my brothers, your grandfathers, and now they are yours." Rolland handed over a money bag the top had gold metal clasp engraved with the Lestrange coat of arms. "The money bag is enchanted it will hold more than you'll ever need and in fact I never emptied it so your grandfathers belongings are still in their, Its got the best anti-theft wards ever done and all you'll need to do is add a drop of your blood on the crest." Next Rolland handed over an elaborate gold and silver tie clip with ruby in the center. "This is a family heirloom passed down for the last ten generations, It's a portkey among other things, I've written down how it was made and what all it does in your book of shadows."

Cassi handed him the book like the girls his was personalized to reflect his personality the green stone covering both ends of the book gleamed and his name was embossed over the side.

"One last thing." Orion told him smiling. "Since the girls have their cats." Here Orion grimaced it was not a secrete that they didn't exactly get along with him. "I decided that you deserve your own pet. I've noticed that you share my enthusiasm for the felines, and have there fore gotten you something a little different." Orion summoned a crate from behind the couch and opened its top up. Reaching in he pulled out a puppy so ugly it could only be called cute. All three heads were butting each other, its little body wriggling around and its tail was wagging. "He's a baby Cerberus." Orion added unnecessarily. "He'll get huge eventually and you can use him to guard your greenhouses, but that's many years off right now I figure he's just the right size to spoil and play with. I've packed enough food for the year here and several toys too. All the paperwork for him is in your file case if anyone asks he's all caught up on his healer visits too, so he's perfectly legal." Orion handed the puppy over to a smitten looking Caellum.

"Well lets load everything into the Carriage so we won't have anything to do in the morning but leave."

The next morning came all too soon for just about everyone. They were up, washed, dressed with their hair perfect by five-thirty. Each of them loaded up with a thermos of their preferred hot breakfast beverage. For Neville, and Orion that was black breakfast tea. For Aurora it was roasted Arabian coffee. She hadn't been wake enough to either hear or particularly care about anyone else's drink. Cassiopeia's flying carriage house and Pegasus took them to the dock were they would board the war ship that would take them to school.

Cassi directed the elves to load them up, stowing the Pegasus crates and Trunks into the cargo haul, and showing their tickets including the extra she'd paid for the large cabin to the men directing everyone. Their tickets were marked and they were led to a large but plain door with a big yellow sign marked 'reserved BLACK' the man waved his wand and opened the door for them tipped his hat forward to them and left.

The spacious cabin was empty save for some old seats. Cassi with a wave of her wand cleared the seats away and brought out her own. In minutes, the room was full of chaise lounges, luxurious chairs and small tables. A few more spells cleared away all dust and cleaned the windows. She handed the small case she'd had the furniture miniaturized and stored away in to Aurora there were some floating candles in it still that could be used for later. Orion and Cassi stayed long enough to introduce them to their cousins before they said their goodbyes and departed.

Caster was sixth year like them, his younger brother Phineas was in the fifth year advanced classes. Virgo, was an aloof seventh year who had already taken her INEWT's. She was going back to school to work on her charms mastery. Libra was a fourth year quiet girl who was dressed like a porcelain doll, perfectly. Finally or so they thought, Arcturus was in Seventh year and seemingly couldn't wait to get away from his parents and presumably them. He slid gracefully onto one of the chaise's in the back turned on his portable wireless and preceded to ignore them. Before the adults could leave however they were drawn to another Black one they hadn't expected to see.

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Draco Malfoy was having the worst summer of his life. He was sure nothing could ever be so awful or tragic. First his mother had whisked him away the moment he was off the train. She'd taken him straight to the vacation house in Italy. Unlike the last time he'd been here, there were no extravagant parties or visitors to impress. No visiting famous places or famous restaurants just to be seen. No they stayed inside and the only visitors were lawyers and house-elves.

His mother read the papers to him every morning and talked about the ramifications of this law or that proposal so it was almost normal in that regard than the day after they learned his father would be released from Azkaban and he'd convinced mother to go home the following day, the papers announced Potter had gone missing. Mother insisted they stay here in case the aurors wanted to accuse them of having knowledge of his kidnaping. His father's official release was postponed because of it any way. Then after father had been home for a week and had sent for them. Narcissa had received troubling news about Children from dark families who'd supposedly died in the first war, that were being found alive and mostly well living with their enemies.

Rumor had it Dumbledore had been behind it all. His mother had flipped her lid. She'd lost her gob stones. He thought he'd have to call a healer, for the fist time in his life his mother had yelled at him and decided he would not step foot in Hogwarts while that 'wrinkly goat loving buffoon' ran it. She'd meant it. His father had written, floo'd, and finally visited himself to try to talk her into coming home and to her senses. He argued that Dumbledore was under surveillance. He told her that the Dark Lord had ordered him to introduce Draco to him, that only made things worse, so changed tactic. People would gossip about them if she changed Draco's schooling at this time. All Draco's allies and friends went to Hogwarts. Nothing had worked and Lucius had not only lost an argument with his wife but been cursed bald after he'd called her unreasonable and implied she was hitting menopause. He gone home in defeat with a new found fear of his wife.

Narcissa had decided that she would send Draco somewhere better than Hogwarts and she'd done quite a bit a research to that end a friend of hers had once remarked that her niece went to school with a couple of children from the Black family. So Narcissa started her research there. Draco had had private tutoring in the summers since before he started Hogwarts so it wasn't to hard to catch him up to the International standard. He'd taken the tests and gotten far more acceptable grades then she'd have liked but still a good set of grades and enough to get him into Athena school of the Arcane. He'd have to take a few remedial classes but she was sure if he put his mind to it, he would do just fine.

Draco was looking in horror around the ship that would take him to his new school. It was a large ship that stopped at several ports including Athena's. The new school was hidden away and only those contracted like the captain of this vessel knew how to reach it. Unlike the Hogwarts express going to the school was just one of its many jobs, it had no luxury seats or pretty compartments you could spend more to rent a cabin but they'd all been taken up when his mom had looked into it so now he just had to find a seat or stand the whole time.

"Narcissa? Narcissa Black is that you?" Draco and his mother turned toward the voice, the man reminded Draco a bit of the pictures he'd seen of his mothers family. The Woman with him could have been his mothers twin were his mother a few decades older. "I don't know if you remember me I'm Orion Septimus one of your Uncle Orion's many illegitimate kids. I saw you once when we were very young."

"It's good to see you." Narcissa meant it and she knew anyone that heard her would be able to tell it. She'd just been feeling so lost standing here unsure of what to do or where to go really. "Are you here on business or do you have kids to send off? This is my son Draco, he's just transferred to Athena's."

"Well don't just stand there then come on in we have a cabin this way." Orion took Narcissa's hand placed it in his arm and led her through a door labeled 'reserved BLACK' into a finely furnished room. This was much more on par what Draco was used to. "Children this Narcissa and her son, Draco, I'm sorry I didn't catch your last name son."

"Malfoy, sir"

Orion smiled at him and gestured around the room "Draco Malfoy. Please meet your second cousin and my daughter Margose, or Maggie as she prefers. Your first cousin Caellum Lestrange" Narcissa gasped and turned to stare at the boy. "I recovered him after Bellatrix was already in Azkaban, your third cousin Aurora Slytherin-Black. Then these are a little more distant though none by more than sixth cousins. Caster, Phineas, Libra, Virgo, and Arcturus Black."

"Why don't you make yourself comfortable, I'll help your mom get your stuff settled." Orion directed Narcissa to him and together found one of the men working the loading area and got Malfoy's stuff loaded up next to his cousins.

Orion and Narcissa made small talk as they walked back and Narcissa learned that he'd raised Aurora, Margose, and Caellum mostly on his own. Mostly because as he told her his mother Cassiopeia had been a great help. Narcissa in return told him about her husband, his insistence on raising Draco in the proper Malfoy way. She informed him that the dark lord had taken up residence in her English manor home and that she'd refused to go back when she realized Draco could be in danger from both sides.

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The Black cousins spent an excruciating hour in near (Arcturus's wireless was still playing wizard rock) silence. Figuring she might as well try Maggie pulled out her carry-on. She spoke in Fae Latin figuring it wouldn't hurt to start early…. "Any one up for a game of cards?" Libra the doll volunteered. Maggie pulled out her wand and maneuvered a table in front of her as Libra moved seats so they could sit opposite each other.

Following her lead Aurora pulled out her own bag moved two of the larger tables to her side and started setting out the brunch tea set and food. She conjured a few extra cups and plates for Draco's sake and began serving everyone. Caellum pulled out an elaborate chess set made of colored glass. The black set was different types of Dragons and the blue set meant to stand in for white was made of various types of Pegasus. He sat up as he asked "Any takers?" Virgo and Draco both moved to join him Draco after a moments pause gestured for Virgo to go first announcing his intention to play the winner.

Aurora began to sing along to Arcturus's music and happily asked caster if he wanted to dance. To her delight he said yes laughing as she pulled him to an empty floor space. The did a modified tango laughing and making small talk about their favorite music and memorable dance moments. Even embarrassing stories of learning to dance.

Soon the music was replaced by an amateur broom race. As Aurora played on the professional circuit she wasn't too worried about catching the results for this race. Her season was over for the next month still. She was still practicing of course but was also enjoying her down time. De Lancret Racing had happily renewed her contract for another season with a huge bonus if she raced two races for them in England and did another publicity stunt there. She'd agreed because both races were after Yule and she would only be their for a few hours each day. In addition she'd be traveling with the company and have plenty of security guards around her.

She was familiar with the course they were racing it was one of her favorites. She wasn't able to hold back the sigh as the announcer yelled that they leading man had taken the fourth turn on the inside. "He's going to loose a full five seconds for that one." She told them at their questioning looks she told them "The Obstacle right after it needs to be entered at the outside wide or else you take the whole fourth off and have to fight to keep on track."

"What would you know about racing?" Draco asked. The Wireless announcer yelled that the leader had fallen behind and was about to be passed. Draco flushed slightly but still glared haughtily in her direction.

"You are kidding! Right?" Virgo turned fully to give Draco a look of disdain. "If you actually knew anything about professional racing you'd already know the answer to that!" Draco looked around and quickly realized all his cousins knew something about this that he didn't.

"She's a professional racer." Arcturus told him slowly in English as though he doubted Draco's ability to comprehend simple words.

Draco blushed darkly, giving her a startled look. "I only followed the English circuit. I'd never needed to know the others. I don't supposed your high ranked?" He was clearly trying to save face.

"She came in second in the World Broom Racing Spree!" Caster told him sounding very much offended on her behalf. She still thought she should have won that but she'd kidnapped Caellum three days before hand, Sirius had Blood adopted Maggie the day before and she had been distracted by worry of Caellum's health and Maggie's core changing darker with her inheriting Purringtongue.

"I missed that this year mom drug me off to Italy for the whole summer." Draco told them. "And the year before I wasn't able to attend because Dad had to work, and the year before that I was at the world cup."

"I attended the World cut in England that year." Aurora spoke up, deciding to change the topic. "I found it highly disappointing the most entertaining thing to happen wasn't a part of the game but seeing the besotted referee try to impress the Veela mascots!"

"I was there too, mind you I was too busy flexing my muscles and trying to impress the Veela myself to pay much attention to the game!" Arcturus admitted. That caused a bit of laughter amongst them. From there conversation flowed sometimes things got awkward or heated as disagreed or let their pride rear it's head; but Maggie and Aurora made a concentrated effort to smooth ruffled feathers and keep things going smoothly. It was pattern that worked well through a late lunch and well into the evening. Caellum reminded them when diner time was fast approaching and Aurora and Maggie got everyone moving as they put the many tables together with a bit of magic to form one large dinning table. Maggie set the table with Libra volunteering her help. Virgo assisted Aurora in pulling the food out of their cold storage basket. They quickly started heating up what needed it then siting it out on the center of the table where everyone could reach it.

Large pots of lobster bisque and baskets of rolls. Pies and other delicious delights were sat aside and covered for desert. They sat around the table eating and discussing classes. Arcturus was telling them how housing was arranged. When a comment he made off hand set Draco off. "What do you mean there are FEA there?" Draco's eyes were wide and his face looked horrified. Arcturus on the other hand looked maliciously delighted.

"And werewolves, Sprites, Dhampir's, and Shifter's." Draco looked more disgusted as he went and conversely Arcturus looked happier.

"But Dhampir's drink blood!" Draco screamed. "Werewolves are blood thirsty monsters who'd keep them in a school!"

"They're only blood thirsty once a month." Virgo said dismissively. If Virgo thought this would calm Draco they were mistaken.

"Dhampir bites cause orgasms." Arcturus said as he wagged eyebrows suggestively. Draco started to hyperventilate. "Most boarded early this morning too, so they should be good and hungry by now." Arcturus's voice was somewhat wistful and he gave a longing look towards the door.

Draco gave a frightened squeak backed further from the door and squealed "When my father!" Caellum burst out laughing.

Caellum gave Draco a shark like grin. Clearly he was going to join Arcturus in needling Draco. "What is it exactly would your father do? The Malfoys are only prominent in England. The only extended family you have are pig farmers in France!" Caellum gave Draco a look of mock pity. "But sure go ahead and complain I'm sure Athena's will kick out half of their students just for you."

"But you're all there too, in danger too!" Draco exclaimed looking for support from the other Black children. "Why would your families let you consort with monstrous half-breeds."

"Who said anything about monsters?" Maggie quickly asked.

"I hope you don't mean the Fae." Virgo said looking somewhat shark like. "Considering my mother is a Shadow Sidhe."

"Aren't they also called the 'fallen'?" Caellum asked. Sparing a scared speechless Draco the need to reply.

"Yes." Virgo replied happily. "For a good reason too. They are still praying for forgiveness."

Maggie took the opportunity to change the subject and get them back on somewhat friendly ground again. Draco remained quiet the rest of the trip. Aurora, Arcturus, and Virgo talked about the advanced courses, and how Aurora would keep up with them while still racing. The school allowed students to go home on week-ends so long as they maintained their grades anyway, but were working with her for the cases where she might need to miss classes, her letter told her the teachers would be talking to her individually about it when classes started.

Caellum and the other boys were discussing Herbology and Caellum's personal greenhouse. Maggie however stopped all conversations with opened the carrier case for her kittens and then had to introduce Aurora's seven, and Caellum's Cerberus. The puppy was happy to lick everyone who wanted to pet him and collapsed into Virgo's lap on his back. His little leg's sticking up and twitching as she patted him on his tummy.

They remained in companionable conversations up until the Captain announced they had reached Athena School for the Arcane port. Students should be ready to depart in fifteen minutes. Every one stood up as Aurora and Maggie began to pack everything away and everyone gathered their carry-ons and got their paperwork to receive their Cargo.


	12. Chapter 12

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing. I am but playing in another's brain baby.**_

 _ **AN: I apologize for the long wait; I have been having problems getting this part written. I would also like to apologize for my grammar I still don't have a beta. It should also be noted that I have started to write another story if anyone is interested in it. I will however be putting this story first and will continue to try to update in a timely manner. Thank you.**_

Disembarking was an exercise in semi-organized chaos and a rather silly show of one up man ship among the students themselves. The phrase "Obviously, I should be allowed to go first" must have been uttered a hundred times by various students all trying to get their stuff out, while disregarding their fellow students right to do the same.

Arcturus had them all wait for some of the rush to calm down before he started to direct all the house-elves in various tasks. Aurora informed him she should need to retrieve her Pegasus herself. Beyond giving her an odd look, he didn't ask questions and just had Virgo lead her to the cargo hold to claim him. She didn't get there fast enough.

Some idiot shifter must have caught a glimpse of her Nightmare and recognized him. For as they got closer she found a large number of this outside his metal enclosure all trying to look in. One of them undid the latch and it was game over Nightmare already spooked by all the people jumped over several students and tried to take off.

Aurora ran after him jumped off the decking and onto his back before he could get to far. She pulled on his reigns whispering soft insurances as she flew him around the docks before landing next to her family. Arcturus looked mildly impressed. Everyone else took several steps back.

"Sorry guys some idiots were messing with my poor boy and got him all riled up." She called down as she slid off her mount. She made sure to keep a tight hold of his reigns and started patting him on the nose. Virgo and the house-elf she had directing Nightmares enclosure arrived several minutes later. Virgo in between loudly proclaiming the idiocy of all shifters, stopped to ask her how in the world she had landed the allegiance of an Aithon?

"I saved him from idiots and he has consented to grace me with his presence ever since." Aurora told them while coxing Nightmare back into his home. She would have to remember the name so she could look it up later, as this was the first hint she had as to what breed her Pegasus could be.

O0o0o0o0o000o0o0o0o0o0

They did eventually make it up to the school. Adults directed the children to their assigned rooms by calling out names and passing them class schedules, keys with numbers and a small map. New students were reminded to sign up for a tour of the school soon so they could get it in before the mandatory welcoming assembly.

Professor Akila Baniti Akins was their tour guide, Aurora and the others had decided to put their stuff in their rooms and then leave for a tour. They could sort their rooms after and if they didn't finish in time they could do it after dinner. It was just better to get the tour out of the way.

Most of the buildings where clearly Greek in origin others Egyptian. Roman looking walkways and roads paved with flat stones connected all buildings, outbuildings and pavilions. They were given maps and list of spells to help them find their way if they got lost.

Draco was having trouble reading it apparently his tutor had wanted him to impress his father with his pronunciation and had neglected the rest, focusing instead on the languages Lucius was more likely to test him on. Aurora offered to tutor him and he accepted until she asked to see his schedule. At which point a small battle ensued where Aurora tried to steal his schedule and Draco tried to keep it from everyone.

Finally as he realized he was taller and preceded to hold the parchment above his head as far as he could, Caellum who was a good bit taller than all of them simply grabbed it from him took a glance and passed it onto Aurora even as he started to grin. Draco flushed in embarrassment Aurora said nothing about his remedial classes just found some time between her schedule and his to write in time for tutoring. Caellum on the other hand continued to send Draco mocking grins the rest of the tour.

Maggie ignored them all in favor of making gooey eyes at one of their taller more human looking classmates. Maggie who had despaired them being the only older students to just start out was happy to find that was not the case. Most of the tour group they had joined were fifth and sixth years who had just started Athena's. They passed more groups made of little ones than older kids though. The tour only lasted thirty minutes and did not go into great detail just generalities, so they were able to return to their room fairly quickly.

Either someone with knowledge of their families surname had made arrangements or fate had a sense of humor. All the Children with last name Black were on the same section of the same floor and even Draco was on that floor except his room was the other side of the hallway. Arcturus greeted them as they came back and asked if they needed help.

"I can cast a space expansion charm that will accommodate my tent." Draco said smugly.

"I'm good as well." Maggie announced.

"I'll need help setting up my greenhouse and water room." Caellum told him. "But, I figure Aurora can help with that when she's done."

"Greenhouse and water room?" Arcturus asked head tilted to the side slightly, clearly curious to see it.

"Yeah give me a few moments and I'll show you" Caellum announced as he disappeared into his new room.

Aurora quickly got to work she cast the space expansion charm extending the room as far as it would go. She looked around at the large space that gave her and smiled. She set up her own wards and ward stone first. The balcony was to the right side of the wall facing her and she placed the unfolded double glass doors that led to the kitchen beside it. She put her small greenhouse mostly of healing plants and herbs out on the balcony. The multi-compartment door/trunk that also held her bedroom went on the wall right of the balcony. It held several living rooms that she would need to check one by one to ensure all the sticking charms held and nothing was out of place.

Beside that door she stuck her favorite. It was a large broom racing course complete with obstacles that could be moved to rearrange various patterns to help her train. She would likely be spending most of her 'free' time in here. Just inside the door was a small wardrobe were she kept her brooms. Just looking at it now made her want to halt everything and go flying.

On the wall to her left directly after you entered she placed the guest toilet. It had a setting that changed 'compartments' to a wash room for her clothes with shelves that held all the cleaning supplies she and elves might need for the year. Towards the middle of the left wall she placed the three story library. Her library was true work of art the bottom floor had tables where her entire family and any friends could spread out to study together, but small reading nooks and secrete rooms were dotted all over the place. Small alcoves contained glass cases for rare first edition books and the occasional rare volume.

On the left wall closest to the kitchen she placed her dining rooms. One large formal dining room, two breakfast rooms and three smaller informal dining rooms all with their own special themes and enchanted windows. Here in the main room she added several chaise lounges and comfy chairs. With small tables. Expensive paintings were hung on the walls between the doors decorative vases and status were placed artfully around the room. Some of which also hid her runic warding schemes and her small ward stone was hidden by the base of one of her middle sized statues.

She inspected her kitchen first. Her large island was sight to behold all butcher block and with a wine rack in the middle. The house elf rooms were in the right cupboard and her little servants settled in well. Her cabinets were gleaming and golden in color and nothing was out of place. She found similar results in most of her rooms only have to fix something here or there. She sat up the small square 'door' to a kittens paradise in the middle of the right wall and realized she was finished with time to spare.

She went out to see Maggie too was finished and they helped Caellum set up his massive greenhouse and water room. The greenhouse was put on the balcony and took up the whole thing. The water room was a combination indoor pond and underwater greenhouse. Those plants that grew best in water and submerged in water could be found here. Caellum loved it. Maggie loved the swimming opportunity. Aurora didn't see the appeal either way personally but Caellum did grow some important medicinal plants in there so she endured helping him with it all.

"Woah!" Arcturus and Leo were standing in the doorway. In moments all of their cousins including Draco were in Caellum's rooms. So They gave them a tour, then Maggie did the same. Aurora exchanged them being allowed to tour her rooms for her getting to tour theirs. Draco was at first convinced that they'd somehow bribed the school for larger rooms, mostly because his own room was literally slightly larger than the cell it was to begin with and his wizarding tent took up every inch. The tent itself contained a small library that doubled as a office space, two bedrooms one bathroom, one living space that flowed into the dining area which was connected to kitchen space. One miserable house-elf lived in the cabinets to the right. It was in a word, tiny. Most of the others weren't' much better.

Arcturus like her had expanded her room as far as it would go. He had decorated it as a sitting room filled with couches and artwork. On the back wall was a large heavy trunk. It was open and led to several other rooms sitting rooms a guest toilet and his giant bedroom. Virgo's room was much like Arcturus's only with darker colors and themes. Her artwork was downright gruesome and poor little Libra found it disturbing and frightening in the extreme. Her balcony was covered with a thick black shroud.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

The welcoming feast was also a new experience for the former Hogwarts students. The school first held an assembly in a large theatre hall. Headmaster Athanasiou welcomed everyone new and old before he introduced all of the teachers. They acknowledged last years leading students and those who'd made exemplary achievements over their break.

Aurora was surprised to be introduced as a journeyman level healer apparently the papers she'd submitted to be officially acknowledged had been published. With several prominent Healers praising her theoretical work. Once done they introduced this years prefects and the captain's of various sports; before dismissing everyone by sections to head into the dinning hall.

The dinning tables were smallish and round. Long buffet tables lined two walls and the doors were open to a court yard where several more tables were set up. Their family found seats in the same general area as each other and those who'd already been students here quickly had their friends find them. Aurora, Caellum, Maggie, and Draco sat together. Draco had sandwiched himself between Caellum and Maggie, likely hoping they would protect him from undesirables. No one got up to get themselves food instead calling on their servants to do it for them.

Aurora quietly and gently called Winky and began using sign language to give her instructions instead of yelling out in the loud hall and hoping she was heard. Winky quickly brought the table bowls of Greek Stifado before popping off for other food. The table was soon filled with plates of tirokroketes (breaded cheese balls), Dolmades (stuffed grape leaves), and various other bits they enjoyed. Honey covered balls of bread finished them off and Winky happily cleared their table for them. While a few other children came over to introduce themselves most stayed with known friends and caught up. Leaving the new students to introduce themselves, and not much else to do. Maggie suggested they retire early, something Draco was thrilled to comply with.

The next morning made for another first for the group. Potions class started with Professor Papadopoulos going over the safety rules and regulations. Anyone found to be breaking said safety procedures would be asked to leave the class and would not be returning. Following the Safety lecture, they were asked to copy the class goals, and a schedule of when certain projects would need to be turned in from the board. The projects were their homework assignments and would be graded harshly but this was the fist and last time they would be mentioned in class. It was up to the students to remember to do them and turn them in on time. No assignment would be accepted late.

They quickly found that most of the standard core classes were equivalent to what was offered at Hogwarts with small variations. Maggie enjoyed the days focused on theory and Aurora lived for the practical. The transfiguration's class was focusing on finding ones animagus form much to all their joy. Though it was hard work, having seen Orion's form, they all counted it as worth it.

The infirmary was amazing. Aurora had to attend two lectures every week and turn prearranged assignments otherwise her Healing class was just a rotation helping kids around the infirmary. She mostly deferred the non-human kids over to other healers if they had anything more than small injuries not trusting herself to be able to properly judge the differences in their body from a humans. She was working on that deficiency though and doing her best to quickly memorize their anatomy and magical circulatory systems. She spent two hours a day with the various experts on different species both to help her studies and to ensure her patients knew she cared about them she just needed more practice with them.

One of the other student healers was a seventeen year old Fae, of the green variety. As in his skin was greenish, his eyes were very green and his shoulder length hair was brown with green streaks. His name was Bes, and he did not like her at all. Of course this meant the instructors paired them together as often as they possible could.

While they all had the usual problems with school, nobody is perfect, there will always be people you hate or hate you. Most of their school related problems ended well enough and none of the teacher were like Snape. Though it would be hard not to notice the Necromancy instructors apparent dislike of Aurora. Try as she might, she simply could not figure out what she'd done wrong.

On the Friday following their first week of school Aurora held a diner in her rooms and invited all the Blacks by issuing official invitation cards allowing them a plus on so long as they rsvp'd at least three days in advance. Arcturus was bringing a date and rsvp'd by calling out to her in the middle of the gardens while she was hurrying to class. "Hey Rory, I'll be there!" He than wrapped his arm around the girl with him. "I'm brining a date!" He added as though it were an after thought "You should probably warn the little mouse!"


	13. Chapter 13

19 November, 2017

09:32 PM

 _ **Disclaimer: I own NOTHING.**_

 _ **AN: I want to give special thanks to those reviewers who always encourage me and give me hope that I'm not entirely awful at writing. That said I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. I hav000000000000000000e been having problems with my muse and once again apologies for how slow this has started to go.**_

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 _Necromancy is truly an interesting and multifaceted subject. Before trying any form of Necromancy the practitioner should have mid level Occlumancy shields to both protect your mind and to maintain a clear focus. Necromancy deals with both the body and the soul, more importantly how they interacted with each other. To summon ghost, ghouls, and souls from the beyond, your own soul must first be whole. Secondly it must be pure. Third one's soul must be protected. There was always a chance if you were exorcising a spirit or if you summoned one particularly strong, they might fight you and attempt to take over your own body. I say attempt because if you've followed steps one through three that shouldn't be able to happen regardless of the practitioner screwing up any later steps._

 _Dealing with the perversion of bodies on the other hand will taint your own body and soul. That means every time you make an Inferius you the practitioner are infecting yourself with a virus that causes among other things, insanity, shortened life spans, and death. To prevent that you must follow steps one through three before you work on bodies, and most importantly after you have worked on them. Just slightly out of order when you are doing it after your work. You should start then with step two, making sure your body is pure. There are several purification rituals that can be done, none of which will purify both body and soul. It is therefor recommended that the practitioner use a chain of purification rituals switching quickly between those to clean your soul than body than back again for good measure. Afterward you should check on your soul to make sure it is still whole and holey yours. That is to say that nothing has attached itself to you. Once you are sure your soul is healthy the third can than be followed as protection spells should be renewed._

Aurora shut the book in frustration and moved onto the next. Her instructor had insinuated in class yesterday that someone in class had clearly gotten ahead of themselves already. He'd been condescending about it and she was sure he'd meant her. While she'd never practiced the craft before something about her had made a real practitioner thank otherwise. She'd searched all her school books followed every diagnostic she could find. They'd all come up clean. Wouldn't you know it, the one book in her own collection she could find that mentioned the possible problem. That something had attached itself to her, didn't tell you how to check for it or what to do about it. She'd not been this frustrated in she didn't know how long. Not even flying had helped and now she had to get ready for her dinner party.

She'd decided to have dragon steak as the main course. She had a enough dragon she could probably eat it every day for the next ten years and not run out. Grandma Mel had ordered it four times a year for these huge fancy parties she'd thrown for England's elite families. She'd changed venues and stopped inviting her own husband when he'd signed the contract for Charis. Arcturus had thought she'd canceled them and since she'd never invited her daughter in law in the first place no one had thought to tell him otherwise.

So when Melania had passed away no one had realized they'd needed to cancel her standing order. The company had her file as Black Family rather than just her name so they'd kept sending the dragon meat because no one had told them not too. The accountants were used to the charge and no one had told them to stop paying it so they didn't. The result being that up until the house-elf had told Aurora and Aurora told Orion they'd been receiving large shipments of dragon meat four times a year with nobody using it for the last twenty two years. When she'd told Maggie the girl had laughed herself silly. She'd told her if worst came to worst they could start their own food stall and just sell off all food that she'd liberated from Grimauld Place.

For her dinner she'd had Winky help her prepare exotic fruit salads to start off with served with sweet bread rolls. Sweet potato casserole, pickled veggies including onions (Aurora's favorite) which tasted fantastic on the dragon meat were being served as sides. She'd made a double chocolate with caramel sauce cheesecake for after's. In addition to Juice and water, She'd dug out some vintage low alcohol content red wine. So it tasted great, but no one was going to get drunk on it.

Dinner was slightly awkward at first, Aurora answered the door and welcomed everyone as they showed up. Letting them in and inviting them to sit where they liked until everyone had arrived. Introducing everyone once they were all there. Draco came alone as did Caellum, everyone else at least brought a friend. Aurora invited Seraphina who shared many of her classes. They'd started talking in Charms theory one day and got along quite well. Arcturus brought his current girlfriend Alana. Virgo brought hers, Sakura. Caster and Leo each brought their best male friends Matt and Alex. Libra brought her favorite gossip buddy, Hailey. Maggie had met a boy were-bear named Skyler, who she'd made friends with enough to invite over.

She got several compliments on her décor and Sakura spotted the Kneazles, which led to everyone trying to coax them into the open to pet them. Only Caster actually managed to temp one of the kittens to him. He was quite proud of himself until he realized it was using him as a scratch post and didn't know how to get it to stop. Once every one had stopped laughing at his predicament; Aurora grabbed up the kitten and scratched his head until she reached the kitty door, where she deposited the little fluff ball.

She led the way to the dinning room using a wandless charm she opened the door for them all. The huge Windsor table already set up for everyone. There were no prearranged seating everyone just sat where they wanted, and started talking. Winky served the food unseen of course.

"So how exactly did you persuade your parents to buy you a nine-tailed Kneazle?" Seraphina asked, her voice curious but not unkind.

"I didn't" Aurora told her. Orion always said the best lie had a grain of truth. "I was walking behind one of our properties and heard the most awful noises." She paused for effect "Of course Uncle Orion always did say I was too nosey for my own good" She let them laugh a little "Too my absolute shock I found a bunch of caged animals and a man." Her audience gasped "I couldn't just leave the poor souls there so I let all the animals go. The kittens were too small to survive on their own I brought them home with me. My Aithon followed as well instead of leaving so I patched him up and did all the paper work for them."

"Kittens?" Hailey asked "How many did you find?"

"Nine." Aurora told her stunned audience "Two bonded with Maggie over here, and the other seven decided they liked me enough to keep me."

"Oh, Wow!" Hailey gaped "I can't imagine owning that many kittens let own Kneazles."

"They are a hand full, but the little terrors have really grown on me." Aurora told her. "What about you do you have any pets?" What followed was half a one up man ship contest of 'well I own this' and half pet parents bragging on their genuinely beloved familiars.

Of course it was Draco who brought up the expensive diner. "I can't believe you've actually served dragon steak, my mother would kill me if I spent so much money on just us."

"Well technically speaking I'm not the one who spent all the money." Aurora told them with a laugh. "My mother had enough magic to get her OWL's, and not much more. My grandfather Arcturus Phineas Black the third was horrified, but my grandma didn't much care. After all mama was still a witch and there are all sorts of spells that can be done that don't require a lot of power. Every day spells I mean. Grandfather however decided he'd rather be rid of her and sold her in an auction as a concubine." Aurora preceded to tell them about her grandmother Melania's revenge.

They mostly spoke about their families after that and where they had been raised. The question of how and why Orion had gotten custody of Caellum and Aurora eventually came up. They were prepared of course and so smoothly talked out the chaos that was the war. The chaos that is the British ministries children's placement and protection program. It was notoriously awful at keeping track of the children that came through its office. Every time they had to place a child they used a spell that generated a sort of tracking charm meant to locate the three closest living relatives. Both Azkaban and the ministry holding cells had wards that would stop the spell from tracking anyone in them. The tracker was then placed on a standard 'you have a relative here' notice attached to a guardianship application form. After that they handed the kid over to the first one to fill out all the forms and pay the fees. Not that they actually kept the paperwork forms. If no one came they shipped the child off to an orphanage. Little did they know it they weren't the only ones discussing that particular topic.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Narcissa sat with quill in hand wondering how she should word one of the hardest letters she'd ever attempted to write. She knew she'd sworn to stay out of the war, but this wasn't fighting, this was family. When the Dark Lord had fallen back in eighty one she'd been in a reel bind. Bellatrix had openly proclaimed her support of him and Lucius had been known to have the mark. He'd immediately began to tell every one that he'd been under the imperious but he'd still been arrested and investigated. Narcissa herself despite not having the mark and being a new mom had been arrested with him, baby and all.

She hadn't trusted her sweet Draco to the ministries care, what if they lost him? So she'd screamed right in the middle of the auror offices for her house elf, and ordered it to bring Andromeda to her right away. As it happened the little idiot had done exactly as she'd ordered. It had grabbed her sister right out of the bath brought her straight there. Andi had been fighting mad, but Narcissa had all but thrown her precious dragon at her. Andi had taken Draco threatened to hex the next auror whose eyes forgot where her face was and marched out of the cubicles to the floo access and left for home.

After all no one could accuse her of having the mark now. They'd seen all places she had to hide one. Two weeks later Narcissa was released from custody and allowed to have her baby back. She'd also discovered to her recently released husbands delight that she couldn't leave the manor with out her clothes disappearing. Lucius had kept trying to get her to meet him in the rose garden, the lecher. She'd had to quill a lengthy letter of apology to her sister complete with bribe to get it to stop.

Now, she was facing a new dilemma Bellatrix was nuts, but once upon a time she'd been a loving mother, and devoted wife. The Dark Lord too had been a decent father. If not exactly loving, the man had made sure all his kids were healthy, well fed, and had all the items they'd need for a good education and toys to play. They both deserved to know that their missing children were alive. If she could tell Charis she would but her aunt had locked herself away behind a fidelius and told no one not even family how to contact her. No matter what they had become now, those kids still had parents that Narcissa could contact. So she penned three letters, To Rodolphus, Bellatrix, and to Lord Voldemort. Though the last two were probably together. Narcissa stomach twisted in knots at the betrayal they were both committing, Rodolphus and Charis deserved better. She wrote everything she knew and everything she suspected, than sent off all three copies.

O0O0O0O0O0O0O0O

Bellatrix moved out of bed feeling pleasantly sore, her Lord had been in a good mood recently. Dumbledore had been in trouble with the Ministry and the ICW, both of whom were scrambling unable to deal with both Dumbledore's sycophants and the Dark Lord Voldemort's own men. Both, Potter and Longbottom had disappeared, though at first they had expected Dumbledore had merely been hiding the boys from them; it later became apparent that something else was going on. Her sisters great eagle owl was taping on the window and Bella let it in.

She hoped Narcissa had something good to say her insubordination lately had made their lord angry. She should have just complied, now she'd be punished and the Dark Lord would have to make an example of her. Maybe if she was begging for forgiveness or had vital information or both, he might be able to go easy on her. With those thoughts in mind she picked up the letters. She rose her eyebrow at finding one addressed to her husband. She pulled on her robe and moved out. She found Both her husband and the Dark Lord in the den talking about plans to neutralize the Auror force. She handed over their letters before opening hers. The men kept talking setting aside the letters for now.

Bella unfolded hers and began to read. Each word came more confusing than the last Bella reread the letter a second time, than a third, and a fourth. She didn't realize she was making any noise but she clearly was because now everyone was gathered around her asking what was wrong. She looked up through tear filled eyes to her husband and pointed to his letter. He and the Dark Lord both opened their own and began to read. Rodolphus began to laugh and cry.

"Is she sure?" He asked hoarsely "She's really found him? Our son is alive?"

"She had better be sure." Their Lord yelled, before storming out of the room. He locked himself up in his study for the rest of the night.

Tom Riddle poured himself a glass of scotch as he contemplated the news his niece by marriage Narcissa Malfoy had just sent him. His beautiful Charis had been a true if unexpected joy. She'd been so smart and fiery and loyal, all things he had not expected from a concubine. He'd taught her magic and rituals to strengthen her core bringing her power levels much closer to the average than she'd ever imagined she could be. He had enjoyed her spirit, and dedication to bettering herself. She'd shared his goals and dreams and than she'd given him the most amazing gift ever. Charis had birthed him an amazing baby boy. He'd not known what to do with a child let alone expected to love him so much.

He'd been little and pink and looked so much like him. Charis had been in an accident that caused a miscarriage eight months later when they hadn't even known she was pregnant. It had been heartbreaking for the both of them and he'd held her while she'd cried. However life moved on and so had they. They had had a second son followed quickly, just nine months and two weeks later, by a little girl. Irish twins he thought they called it. If he thought his sons had stolen his heart and captivated him it was nothing compared to his very first and only girl. She was sweet and so much easier to deal with than her mischievous brothers. Little Aurora had slept through the night after the first week, she'd rarely cried. Had always been so happy to be held laying her little head on his shoulder and breathing into his neck.

He'd adored his children, done everything he could to protect them only his oldest most devoted followers, friends and her family had known about his marriage to Charis and the children she had lovingly given him. Then his little family had been shattered. Charis had gone to their niece Bellatrix and aurors had attacked. It had made no sense, neither of the Lestranges had followed him at that time. Supported yes but they weren't donating him money or fighting for him. The aurors had taken the children and attacked both women. Charis had been traumatized by what she'd witnessed and had begged him to find their daughter. He'd tried and failed. Failed his sweet little child.

He'd thought her dead or forever lost to him until tonight. Narcissa had better be right about this, not that he would kill one of Charis's nieces she loved all three of them so. He'd never allowed anyone to harm Andromeda despite her defiance because of her connection to his family, likewise he'd tried not to kill Sirius. That did not mean however that he wouldn't torture her until she wished he'd killed her if she was wrong. He finished his bottle of scotch and quilled a letter to Narcissa in response demanding her memory of his child. He would not send word to Charis until he was sure it was really her. No need to raise his wife's hopes only to see them crushed later.

O0O0O0O0O00O0

Aurora should have known that her family would realize something was wrong with her. As soon they were alone both Caellum and Maggie had confronted her. She had finally confided her problem, only for Caellum to immediately give her the next steps she needed to take.

"You know, we have library cards to the biggest library in the known world." Caellum told her. "They are bound to have something on souls, and bits that can be attached to it. I'm sure we can look it up. After all most of your papers on healing focused on the soul. No one would think it weird if you were researching in that area."

They had gone to the library the next free moment they had. The Library of Alexandrea was a seven story monstrosity. It had been expanded several times in its life and had four sub basements below the main basement. It was sorted first by the century it was released than by category. They had to go down three basement levels to get to a 'recent' time frame. Eight corridors later they finally found soul magic in a dusty rarely used part of the Library. It had taken them three hours to search that entire section before Aurora found something that might be of use to her. It would scan her body for soul particles giving herself a reading of her own soul and anything that might be attached to her that shouldn't be. She copied down the required parts and moved on to see if the others had found anything useful. Caellum had found a reference about moving or removing soul pieces in one of the books. It pointed them to a book written in two hundred B.C. They had climbed up all of those stairs to level four. Had to take a break to rest and grab a drink before any of them collapsed. How on earth did the mastery students in the Musaeum do this everyday?

It was midnight before they found the books they needed and copied down the relevant information. They all ported back to the school around one in the morning and collapsed in Aurora's rooms to sleep. The following day was Sunday thankfully none of them had any classes that day and they looked through all the information they'd found to form a plan.

They had all three of them gathered the necessary diagnostic tools that would be useful. They decided it was save to do the diagnostic ritual at any time. Aurora had immediately gone about trying it with Maggie and Caellum there to help her. While Maggie and Caellum stared at the results in confusion, Aurora was horrified. She had a horcrux in her forehead. It was in the soft tissue in her scar, but still a part of her. It was also still connect to her father. It explained the visions, the head aches, and Dumbledore's obsession with killing her.

Aurora swore Maggie and Caellum to secret and told them what she knew about the horcrux magic her father had used. They had been shocked and Caellum was very torn but in the end he agreed he would help her with out endangering the soul piece.

Aurora had the first Race of the season coming up and Samhain the magical new year also known as Halloween to the muggles was fast approaching. Magical's began celebrating on the twenty ninth and continued onto the first of November. Parades, magical rituals, and group celebrations were not only common but rampant during this time. Her contract with D' Lancret racing required her to make an appearance for the public party they were hosting. To take pictures with some of the fans at certain games. After which she would be free to either go home or party with the rest so long as she did nothing to damage her pristine reputation.

On the twenty ninth the dark lord's daughter gathered with her closest friends and the three of them began the rituals and spells needed to pull the horcrux out of her scar and place it in a small loose emerald she had found in jewelry box. She would than place the stone into the setting of a plain bracelet she had picked out just for this purpose. First though she had to clean her face of the make up and wax she used to cover her scar.

At three a.m. one the thirtieth they began. Aurora had never felt so much pain and discomfort in her head before it was all she could do to keep chanting the spells. Finally twenty minutes later the horcrux was pulled out of her and she panting managed to pick herself up off the floor. With difficulty, she picked herself up enough to start the next part; shoving the soul piece which had been perfectly unwilling to leave her into a gem it was perfectly unwilling to inhabit. It took all three of the to do it. Exhausted they all swore they'd never be willing to do this again and the dark idiot could clean up his own soul from now on. Who in their right mind went around leaving bits of themselves laying around for every one to find?


	14. Chapter 14

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor am I making any form of currency on this story.**_

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Aurora lay flat on her broom, her toes were pointed back on top of the bar. Her eyes were focused on the obstacles in front of her, hands stretched out in front of the broom, lightly gripping the handle. Using her whole body to steer as she rolled right, left, left, left, right, up, down over. The next obstacle was more tricky going through the hoop after it even more so. Her opponents were trying to pin her in. she wouldn't able to go around the next box without falling behind. She couldn't go over it without slowing down or she'd miss the hoops. She had to hit at least one hoop and extra points were around for hoop difficulty if she cut down she might maintain her current position but she'd lose points. Their was a hoop just on the other side of the box she could see its glow, but there was no way she could hit it unless… She spun ahead of the other racers aiming for the obstacle box.

Hitting the box with her broom was minus one half a point, hoop difficulty was plus five points, regular hoops were three points if she hit this right she would be a point and a half ahead accounting for the hit loss. Sure enough as the box fast approached she pulled up and angled down just slightly. The tip top of her broom hit the box at full speed catapulting her into a summer saw that flung her over the box and through the hoop she pushed her body to the right throwing her broom into a spin and allowing her to get full control again as she had to turn left, through another hoop the finish line all glowing yellow, white, and black was in front of her. She passed the line the horns sounded and she slid to a halt in the empty space that was the middle of the course. She finished a full three seconds in front of the second place finisher. The points though were what she was worried about. She could finish first in every race but if the points weren't in her favor she wouldn't be competing in the World Racing Tournament. She did a loop de loop as the scores came out. She was first in points too. It wasn't a huge lead but it would do.

As she accepted congratulations, she saw a familiar face waiting for her team in the fancy gazebo they only used for VIP passes. Those were not cheap and anytime someone bought one the whole team had to make an appearance to at least say hi and sign autographs. If the VIP's weren't too obnoxious they could invite them out to a celebratory lunch or dinner. While that part wasn't something they were contractually obligated to do, it was still expected that they would, at least once or twice a year. It was good publicity and encouraged others to buy VIP tickets. She entered the changing rooms and ran for the shower. Soaping up and rinsing off as fast as she could without compromising her beauty routine. Grandma Cassi would never forgive her if her skin turned leathery from all the wind. Also her contract did oblige her to 'look her best' for VIP meetings. She could admit to herself somewhat that at least a part of her wanted to look good for these particular VIP's. She used her enchanted brush to get her long hair into a twist. Many of her teammates chose to keep short hair but proper pureblood heiresses would see short hair as scandalous.

She called Winky to bring her a different perfume, dress and boots, the ones she'd planned to wear to sign autographs just wouldn't do anymore. So grey tights, her red dress with lace back and sleeves, full multi layered skirts, and black thigh high Tebo hide boots it was. A silver chained sapphire necklace with matching bracelets and anklets and a silver hair clasp were used to complete the picture. She had gone from rough racing girl to proper pureblood heiress in under fifteen minutes. Go her.

Aurora walked out of the changing rooms and out the door to the Gazebo to stunned silence from her team mates most of whom had never seen her dressed up. "Woah," Louisa called out whistling as she did so. "What's the occasion?"

Aurora turned and winked, "I caught a glimpse of our VIP's," She gave them a mischief filled grinned. "and decided that I would like to look my best for Victor Krum." That caused minor war amongst the girls who couldn't decide if they wanted to change or just rush out to meet him. Louisa always looked her best and ran with Aurora to the doors so they were the first ones out. It took another five minutes for the other girls to notice and race out after them. By which time they had already greeted their guest and invited them to dinner with them.

Outside, it was not one known face greeted her but several she knew her face showed surprise but most would simply think that was from the quidditch star there to greet them. Fleur Delacour was standing beside Victor holding hands with William Weasley. All three turned to them when they stepped outside. Louisa immediately greeted them and began to flirt. Aurora blushed a little it felt like a life time ago that she had known these people. It had been another life time. She put on a smile and walked over the annoyed looking Fleur and remembering to speak French began. "Hello, did you have fun at the races?"

"Yes," She said shortly still glaring at Louisa, before turning to look at Aurora again. "OH, forgive me, I almost didn't recognize you, congratulations on your win."

"Thank you, I'm aiming at winning the Worlds this year. No more second place for me." Aurora laughed. "I'm Rory." She held her hand out for William and Victor to take and bowed her head to Fleur acknowledging the other girl as an equal.

"No way," Louisa said smiling. "It's early yet, I still have a chance to beat you at Worlds too." She struck a pose pushing her nose up in the air but wasn't able to hold the look long before she bent over laughing at her own joke. Aurora and Fleur giggling with her. Victor smiled a little.

"Do you have your families support?" Victor asked her looking at her clothes and back to her face.

"Yes, my uncle and cousins are really proud of me." Aurora told them. "Sure there are some people in the family who don't think it's proper but I tend to ignore them. Most of the ones around my age think it's cool any way."

"How old are you?" William asked before any one else could. That was a tricky question really as she was younger than most and hadn't known it until she and Orion had gone through her paper work for school. Dumbledore had messed with her age to make it match Harry's and she had done a lot of time traveling that made her mentally older if not physically. Luckily their was no minimal limit to professional broom racing.

"I'm Fifteen." She confessed to their shock. "I started pro racing at fourteen. I loved racing the moment I sat on a broom the first time and took off doing loops and dives. Luckily I'm also good at it and my career was made."

"What about your schooling?" Fleur asked. "Doesn't this put you behind?"

"O' no not at all. I'm a sixth year student at the Athena school for the Arcane." She told them. She couldn't help but brag a little "I also obtained my Journeyman's level Healers license this past summer." She couldn't help the glow of pride that came with that. She'd never be great at transfigurations and her household charms were best described as good enough. Her DADA was excellent but her offensive spells were the worst in her classes. In Herbology the professors called her technical and proficient. Which meant she didn't kill anything but would never be a master at it. Her ability to beast speak made her good at Care of Magical creatures but despite that built in cheat she was still in the mid level grades for her class. So yes her ability to heal especially ones soul and magic was something she was immensely proud of.

Luckily her pride didn't put her audience off any they just looked impressed. "Were you guys hungry? We usually eat at Sheila's after big wins and we would love to have you come with us." Louisa, Dawn, Amelie, and herself did regularly haunt that particular club as it was exclusive and classy. The music was nice not loud and in your face and the food was excellent, it could rival that of a four star restaurant with ease. They agreed to come and the other girls came out as they were all joined by a few more VIP's all of whom Aurora took the time to greet give autographs and offered to give everyone a tour of the training facilities. These particular buildings were owned by their company who also owned in part at least the race course itself. It would have been very embarrassing if at least one of them hadn't won today. So she showed them the locker rooms she and girls pointedly told funny stories that had happened here in the past. The massage tables and steam room got a few dirty jokes, and they passed into the weight/strength training room and got a good look at the equipment and pools. They even got to view the area for broom repair before she led them all back out to the empty gazebo. All the girls signed a few more autographs.

Aurora managed to pull Fleur, Victor, and William out while Louisa and Dawn distracted the other's Amelie covered the door moving and ten minutes later all three met back up with Aurora and their VIP's outside Sheila's door. The guards let them in the moment they knocked and the girls led the way up to the top balcony their were three levels of balconies overlooking the dance floor the top most doubled as a restaurant. Their favorite table was roped off and a waiter hurried over to the table to let them in and pass out the menu's. Sweet breads with butter appeared the moment they sat down. Aurora tapped her wand to the menu than ordered the braised beef and gnocchi. The others followed suit tapping their menu's with their wands to change the menu options from French, Chinese, or Italian dishes. William and Fleur both kept with French menu. Victor followed Aurora's lead and ordered the Italian calzone.

The rest got Chinese and they had fun talking about the pro racing and quizzing Victor about the quidditch league. He was playing for his National team again for the next World cup. This one he was determined to win not just catch the snitch. They compared him starting his career so young to Aurora dealing with racing and school. "What brings a professional quidditch star to a race?" Aurora asked.

Victor laughed as he answered. "I came to spend time with Fleur she is engaged, and we got to talking." Victor got a rueful look. "She said racing was better than Quidditch, and I would have fun if I came to a race." Victor gave her a wink "She was half right I have had a good time."

Was he flirting Aurora wondered. She wasn't sure how she felt if he was. After a moments thought she decided if he was it was an unconscious act that he did naturally. Arcturus was the same. So they had fun ribbing him about quidditch being the soft sport. After dinner they wondered out some to the dance floor's others to explore the other area's as they spoke. She parted with the floo address for Victor and a mail address for Fleur. She had traipsed home to the Cottage and just began to undress when the house elf popped in with the tragic news.

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Caellum awoke Early on the second of November to drag himself off to breakfast. Samhain had fallen on a Thursday giving them all a four day weekend from school. So he was currently at home in Lestrange Hall. Uncle Rolland wasn't doing to well, the man hadn't been out of bed in two weeks and the head of the medi-nurses Cassi had hired told him it would be any time now that he went. So Caellum had celebrated Samhain proper in Rolland's rooms. Rolland himself talking about those family member's who'd long since passed the river, and Caellum telling stories of his new school. He held the mans hand and assured him he was there as he took one last raged breathe. He waited until the nurses cast the last spells and left before he broke down crying. Helene Beauregard head nurse for Mr. Lestrange watched with a heavy heart this was always one of the hardest parts. She had been almost reluctant to take the job when she'd heard the patients last name. When she'd proudly told the woman who'd been interviewing her that she was muggle born, the other woman had looked at her bewildered and said. 'Yes and the sky is blue, pigs are pink, and none of it has anything to do with your abilities now does it?' Helene had been most embarrassed however the rest of the interview had gone quite well and she'd been hired. Mr. Lestrange had been a delight, so sweet and kind. He'd happily bragged all about his wonderful nephew. They'd been nothing like she expected such a notorious family to be. So now knowing Caellum didn't need to be alone right now, she felt secure enough to call an elf and have him inform the family. She knew he was quite close to his female cousins having been raised with them and so requested one of them be told that Caellum needed her. The girl that came was dressed to the nines she'd clearly been out somewhere.

"Caellum? Oh dear heart come here." Aurora called softly, as she pulled the distraught boy to her. Caellum rested his head on her shoulder so she could hold him as she cried. She cried too. The old man had grown on her despite not having known him long.

Aurora put Caellum to bed before getting to work. She gave the nurses permission to move him and get him prepared for burial notified his solicitors, accountants and non-elf staff. She than had to track down the elves to find out who all had been told. The elves had been ordered to notify the Lestrange family and they had. Unfortunately the only family baring the name were escaped convicts. So Aurora had Cassi, Orion, and Maggie informed. She than ordered cards they would fill out to send out the notices to the papers, and close friends once they decided on a burial date. Once done she fell into a elf made bubble bath. She woke up to the elves drying her off and tucking her into bed.

The next morning they dismissed the healing staff who were no longer needed after making sure they all had their references, and went over Rolland's preferred burial ritual. The new moon would not be until at night on the tenth so the public ceremony would be that morning. Caellum decided on anything Rolland hadn't already specified and once done they all began filling out the notice cards. The ones to personal friends and family were sent that morning and the Newspaper notices were sent in the evening as an attempt to notify his nearest and dearest before the papers could. Aurora returned to school and made sure to collect Caellum's homework and make up work so he could complete them every night. On the fifth when Aurora showed up it was to find a panicking Caellum locked in the floo room. She didn't need to ask what was wrong because he told her right a way. Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange had arrived not knowing Caellum was already there. He'd ordered the house-elves to deal with them for now but they had been demanding to know who was in charge and Caellum was not ready to face his father just yet.

Aurora marched down the rooms where the elves had kept the Lestrange brothers. She barged into the sitting room and yelled at them for being rude and inconsiderate assholes. They were shocked at her appearance and more so at her introducing herself as 'Aurora, you know the daughter of that dark wanker you worship.' She'd than taken them to town on their health. They had dark lines around their eyes, under their nails, running up their arms, and that was only the places she could see. It was a form of magical rot that resulted in spending too much time unclean around Dementer's with too little food and too much moisture. "Haven't you two seen a healer since you've been out?" No as it turns out they hadn't. The last healer they'd had sympathetic to the cause had disappeared while they were in prison and no one knew were to find a new one. It just freaking figured. Both men wanted to participate in the private family rites and to do that she was going to have get rid of the rot. While she was at it she might as well treat anything else she found. It was with a long suffering sigh that she ordered them to dress down and prepare for diagnostics, she only had so much time to get them healthy after all. When they didn't immediately comply she disarmed them called Winky and dressed them down anyway. Much to both men's embarrassment. Getting rid of the rot meant using a specialized wire brush and cleaning potions. The potions were easy to get it was the scrubbing part that was tricky, and painful. She petrified the men and Winky, carrying all the scrubbing tools she needed took Rodolphus off to the bathtubs. When he came out forty minutes later pink and cringing he no longer had the will to fight and merely fell upon the bed and said "Your worse than your father, he at least has never ordered anyone to take a metal anything to my privates."

"It had to be done you know." Aurora told him. "besides endangering your life, it acts as a STD spreading to any one you have intimate contact with."

Rodolphus raise his head and asked cautiously "Would a woman be able to spread it the same way?"

"If your wondering about your whore wife and my man whore of a father," She said causing him to wince again. "The answer is yes he probably has it already and yes he will need the same treatment." Aurora couldn't help the smile that slipped out there.

"Your evil." Rodolphus told her. "I'm so not going to be the one to tell him that." She snorted and began to fiddle with the potions she had laid out in front of her while he had gotten his bath. A few she had had to make others she had sent the elves to buy off of Cassi.

"Drink this." She ordered. "It will begin to infuse your bones to help them heal from any damage you sustained because of Azkaban."

"This one will help you put on a healthy weight." She informed him as she handed over another. "These two here will help settle your magic. Dementer's cause damage to your core after only a month of exposer and you were there for years."

"I've laced your food with nutrient potions, unfortunately that's all I can do for now." She told both boys once Rabastan had also been bathed and put to bed. She made to leave when Rabastan stopped her. "How did you know?"

"I'm sorry?" Aurora turned to him confused.

"I heard you when I was in the bath, talking about Bel's and our Dark Lord, how'd you know?" He was resting on the bed but it was obvious he wouldn't sleep right until he knew. Now that it had been asked it was also clear that Rodolphus wanted an answer too. Well she had been wondering how and what she would tell her father. She might as well tell him now. Rodolphus deserved to know as well. Why not use him as the messenger?

"That jack ass made sure I knew." She told them with a mirthless laugh. "You see when Dumbledore had me and Caellum kidnapped he just wanted Caellum." She shook her head realizing she would need to give them the back ground information. She summoned a chair to her, no use wasting magic conjuring one, when summoning took so little energy. She sat down and got comfortable while she debated what to say. "I want you two to remain quiet and fix this in your memory because I will never say it again." She fixed them with stern looks. They both nodded. "Dumbledore's grandmother was a squib born from the Lestrange line and he believes he deserves an inheritance from you because of it. The relation is too distant to declare himself the heir if the main line died out so he ordered five of his best to kidnap your son. He would have had you killed or disappeared at a later date. At which time he had planned to declare himself Caellum's full guardian. He would have access to the Wizengamot votes, and large portion of the money. He had not planned on me. He had no one in place to take a second child and girls are nearly worthless in his eyes anyway. So he asked one of the men who'd kidnapped us to keep me."

"The Fifth auror!" Rodolphus blurted out. Though annoyed she did wonder what he meant and gestured to the now sheepish man to continue. "We looked for the both of you. We managed to trace some of the magic caste in the house to the Longbottom's and the Prewitt twins, but we never managed to find the fifth man."

She nodded. "James Potter took me home to his wife that night already partially blood adopted. They had added James's blood to mind to make him my third parent. I can't imagine how he explained that to his wife."

"Voldemort came to the Potter's cottage in Godrics Hollow and killed everyone but me. He could have saved me. He might have bothered to notice that I was there but no he was to consumed with his need to kill anything in his way to register his own child" Alright so maybe she was a smidgeon bitter about that. "Dumbledore needed Harry to 'live' so he spelled me to look like him and enchanted my mind so that I would be loyal and do as Dumbledore believed the 'boy-who-lived' should."

"Who saved you?" Rodolphus asked.

"YOU THINK SOMEONE _RESCUED_ ME?" So maybe she was madder than she had at first believed. Her laugh had turned bitter for sure. "No, NO _I_ saved me. Voldemort tortured me, hunted me, stole my blood, used the connection he'd forged with me to turn my dreams into nightmares. Who was going to rescue me when my own father wouldn't. No I saved me no thanks to any of you."

She got up and stormed to the door pausing to look back and smile. "The only time I can think of that monster and smile; is when I realize that he used my _ESTROGEN_ filled blood to make his homunculus. I hope he enjoys the PMS symptoms that's sure to give him." She turned back and stormed off to her rooms. She would grab her firebolt and take off there was no way she would sleep tonight.


	15. Chapter 15

Aurora hated hiding from people, yet that was exactly what she was doing. The morning after her outburst saw her sending Winky to do the health check ups on the Lestranges. She used what Winky brought back to her in addition to the results of last nights scans to cobble together a treatment plan that would see both Lestranges as healthy as she could make them before they left.

Unfortunately after the second day she learned she couldn't hide anymore. Rabastan had had a bad reaction to one the potions and Winky couldn't figure out why. So Aurora had to come herself. He was curled into his side clutching his stomach. She did several diagnostic charms and had to sigh sometimes the best way to tell was just to feel for yourself. Aurora summoned her healers gloves removed her cloak and outer robes and sat down on the bed beside her patient. Gently, she reached out and pulled Rabastan until he was laying on his back. Than lifted his night shirt so she could see for herself, running her hands up his side and around his stomach. "You know usually I have to at least buy diner first." he wheezed.

"Not pretty enough for the girls to invite you to diner huh?" She asked mostly to distract while she figured out what that knot was.

"Nah I was plenty pretty," He coughed "Just too much of a jackass to make the pretty worth it."

"That sounds like someone's told you that before." She ran a few more spells over the spot.

"Yep." He laughed. "For a mudblood she was gorgeous. I could see why others were always so obsessed with her."

Aurora gave him an extra hard jab with her wand getting rid of the knot and fixing him up.

"Ouch, Fucking woman." He screamed as he sat up. "You did that on purpose." Rabastan accused her as moved around testing for pain. "Hey thanks." He shot her a crooked smile.

"If you don't stop flirting with her, I'm going to tell her mom on you." Rodolphus threatened very amused, from where he'd been watching them. To her surprise Rabastan blushed.

"Hush you." Rabastan threw a pillow at his brother. "So what's the verdict?" He asked turning back to her.

"You have blood poisoning" She told him. "I didn't catch it the first time around because the Rot causes similar readings and symptoms. I'm fairly sure it's from your teeth."

"What do we do now?" Rabastan asked.

"First thing to do here is start a potions regime to clear your blood, I'll remove all your teeth, then we'll flush out the infection from your mouth." He was looking frightened again so she gentled her tone and tried to reassure him. "Once we're sure your blood is clean and all the infection is gone we can try to regrow your teeth. So long as there are no other complications it should be ok."

"I'm going to check on your brother to make sure I didn't miss the same problem with him than we'll start treatment." It was a good thing she thought to check; for Rodolphus also had several bad and infected teeth, although his had yet to cause blood poisoning it was still serious enough to warrant treatment. She ignored both of the men for the most part as she worked; figuring the sooner she was done the sooner she could leave to reassure Caellum that everything was going to be alright.

In the two days that the Lestrange brothers had been here Caellum had gone from afraid to angry to grief stricken despair so often that she'd contemplated forcing him to take a calming draft more than once. She had coaxed him into doing his homework and working in the greenhouses to occupy his mind but so far nothing had done the trick. Aurora figured he was also grieving for parents he'd never known and now didn't know what he was supposed to think or do about it, what with his birth father being the same house as him for the first since he was small. It probably didn't help any that the last time he'd seen any of the Lestranges he'd been 'Neville' and his parents had been trying to kill him.

The entire time leading up to the funeral was stressful for everyone Aurora hid her sorrow better than the others mostly because she was used to hiding herself behind a mask. Also she had Caellum's father and brother abscond in her tender care. She took great delight in the fact she could heal most of their bodies of everything that physically ailed them only at the expense of forgoing any pain killers. She had invented with Cassiopeia's help and expertise; a potion to help reset a chaotic magical core, so that the process she'd needed to use for Sirius would not be needed except in the most extreme cases. She administered the potion to Rodolphus first and as soon as his core was ready she used her own magic to guide it back into it's correct place. Rabastan's magic took more time both to maneuver into place and to set. He'd only been nineteen when he'd been imprisoned, neither his body nor his magic had been finished growing. The damage he'd incurred in prison would have been insurmountable in a hospital constricted by legalities.

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Caellum straightened out his robes fixed his tie and hair one last time using the hall mirror, before taking a big breath and opening the doors to allow in the guest who would be attending the funeral. Most who came were scholars who'd either enjoyed learning from the old man, working with him or both. He and his two Black cousins greeted them as they came leading them to the back where they had opened the double doors into an exotic ball room whose entire back wall opened up into the private gardens. That area had been Rolland's favorite; hence the funeral being held there. The Lestranges hadn't hosted a formal event for close to twenty years now so for some of the kids and grandchildren being forced to tag along this would be the first time they had laid eyes on the castle or its grounds. Every inch was impressive and gleaming for the occasion. Pictures, portraits, news articles, and other paraphernalia depicting events all through out Rolland's life littered the walls and had been set up on stands along with mourning wreaths and flower arrangements.

Caellum Stood rigid for the speeches and stiffly but correctly completed his part for the public rights. His two favorite cousins by his side. He had admittedly found the way others reacted to Aurora Persephone Slytherin Black being introduced to them as amusing. Margose Black, had acted the perfect socialite and hostess distracting others from either staring at Aurora or bothering the grieving Caellum by engaging in small talk about themselves and using the gleaned information to send them in the direction that would see them best occupied.

At the end of the night they said goodbye to all the guest, took a small moment to steady themselves for what would come next. The Lestrange brothers met them at the casket when they came back. Together the three Lestrange men used their wands to lift the coffin and take it to the family mausoleum, where the deceased man's body would be given his family's blessing during the final rights, than cremated. Past the cremation chamber was where the bodies were stored were rows of empty and filled shelves each carefully decorated and labeled. The whole structure was laid out in the formation of the family tree. Rolland's ashes were placed into a decorated urn that sat in exactly Rolland's place on their family tree.

Caellum didn't stick around to speak to his family, choosing instead to say good night and retire to his suit. Maggie too said her goodbyes. "I'm spending the night at dad's house. Tell Cael I'll see him at school next week." Aurora had nodded in agreement as she watched the other girl leave.

"And you two?" Aurora asked the Lestranges. "will you be going back to your master and the whore?"

"Yes. We've been away long enough as it is." Rabastan answered. Rodolphus had sighed but remained quiet. "Do you have any other messages for us to pass on?"

"No, I've nothing more to say to him, you will share your memories?" She asked already knowing the answer. They both nodded in affirmative. "Don't forget to have the whore decontaminated. Please do try to stick to the meal plans and exercise regime we formulated for you." With that she saw herself out.

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 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and make no money off of this work._**

 ** _To my readers I apologize for taking so long. I had trouble with this chapter for whatever reason. However I will soon be introducing the rest of the Slytherin family._**

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The man known as Voldemort sat back from his pensive frowning. Rabastan had dumped his memories into it as soon as he had arrived. He had also fled. Voldemort had known then that he would not like what he would see. He'd been right. Still he forced himself to watch it all to the very bitter end.


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